The Twin City City Thunder followed last Saturday’s win against the Northern Cyclones with another dominating performance Friday afternoon. The Thunder defeated the Boston Advantage 3-0 at the Raynham Iceplex in Raynham, Massachusetts, in a USPHL National Collegiate Development Conference game.
“You want to end (the first half of the season) on a high note; we still have some work to do before then,” Thunder coach Dan Hodge said. “It’s all about consistency and playing hard, and (the players) are buying into the system. And we are getting to the point where guys are seeing what works. They are playing (really) well.”
The Thunder still have three games to play before a break from Dec. 19-Jan. 8.
Forward Sam Stitz had a goal and an assist to lead the Thunder, and it’s the fifth time this season he has recorded two points. Stitz has five goals and six assists in 20 games.
“He’s been playing really well all year,” Hodge said. “He’s a long, rangy kid who plays hard every game. He’s one of those kids when it’s going, it’s going, but every night you get an honest effort from him — that’s what matters.”
Goalie Brody Haynes made 29 saves for the shutout. He came up big in the third period when the Thunder (11-10-1, 23 points) were killing off a double-minor penalty.
“(Lucas) Doran took a (high-sticking) penalty there and we had to kill it off,” Hodge said. “We kept (the puck) in there end for a good two minutes and when (the puck) was in our zone, Brody made some big saves and shut them down.”
Tyler Healey scored late in the second period to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead. The assists went to Trace Norwell and Ben Monson.
Midway through the third period, Blake Tierney — who was named NCDC North Division Defenseman of the Week on Wednesday — scored his first goal of the season to give the Thunder a 2-0 lead on the power play. Lucas Doran and Stitz had the assists.
Tierney has a goal and four assists in 10 games since joining the Thunder from the Janesville Jets of the North American Hockey League on Nov. 5.
“He was in Janesville for a while and it was hard for him to get ice time,” Hodge said. “He’s here, and I told him, ‘Your best hockey is still ahead of you because you missed a lot of time up (in Janesville).’ I told him, ‘Hey, keep going and keep your confidence.’ He’s been playing really well.”
Stitz stretched the Thunder lead with an unassisted power-play goal shortly after Tierney’s goal.
The Thunder went 2-for-3 on the man advantage, and Boston went 0-for-4.
Connor Bradford made 18 saves for the Advantage (10-11-2, 22 points) in the loss.
The Thunder return home Saturday night at Norway Savings Bank Arena to face the South Shore Kings at 7:30 p.m.
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