The Twin City Thunderbirds are a minor professional ice hockey team based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The team competes in the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) and plays its home games at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena. The franchise was founded in 2016 and began play in 2017 as the Carolina Thunderbirds.
As the Carolina Thunderbirds, the team won the Commissioner's Cup in 2019 and reached the Commissioner's Cup Finals in three consecutive seasons from 2022–23 through 2024–25. The franchise adopted its current name and logo in September 2025.
History
Formation and inaugural season In August 2016, the Federal Hockey League (FHL) approved an expansion franchise for Winston-Salem beginning with the 2017–18 FHL season. The Carolina Thunderbirds name was announced the following month, reviving the identity of the professional team that had last played in Winston-Salem in 1992. In June 2017, former Berlin River Drivers head coach Andre Niec was hired as the franchise's inaugural head coach.
The Thunderbirds played their first game on October 27, 2017, against the Danville Dashers. Their home opener followed on November 3, when Carolina defeated the North Shore Knights 3–2 before a sold-out crowd. The team finished third in its inaugural season and set an FHL single-season attendance record by drawing 66,204 fans. Carolina then lost its semifinal series to the Watertown Wolves in two games; the deciding 3–2 double-overtime loss was, at the time, the longest game in league history.
2018–19 championship season Carolina completed a record-setting 2018–19 regular season with 49 total wins, 149 points, and an .856 points percentage, earning the first regular-season championship in franchise history. The season also included an FHL-record 24-game winning streak.
As the league's top seed, Carolina swept the Port Huron Prowlers in the semifinal before defeating the Elmira Enforcers three games to one in the Commissioner's Cup Finals. The Thunderbirds clinched their first league championship with a 4–3 overtime victory on April 27, 2019, as Jan Salak scored the winning goal 35 seconds into overtime.
Pandemic and coaching changes The league, known as the Federal Hockey League through the 2018–19 season, adopted the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) name for 2019–20. Carolina led the overall standings when the FPHL canceled the remainder of the 2019–20 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The league later recognized Carolina as the 2019–20 regular-season champion. The pandemic also delayed the start of the 2020–21 season until February 2021. The Thunderbirds were one of four participating teams and played their entire schedule on the road.
Following the 2020–21 season, Niec left the Thunderbirds to become a European scout for the Florida Panthers. Garrett Rutledge was appointed as the franchise's second head coach and director of hockey operations.
Three consecutive Finals and rebranding In Rutledge's second season, Carolina won the Continental Division playoff title and reached the 2023 Commissioner's Cup Finals, losing to the Danbury Hat Tricks in five games. Rutledge left after the season to become an assistant coach with the Saginaw Spirit, and Steve Harrison was appointed head coach later that month.
Under Harrison, the Thunderbirds returned to the Finals in both 2023–24 and 2024–25, losing both series to the Binghamton Black Bears in three-game sweeps. By reaching the 2025 Finals, Carolina had won three consecutive Continental Division playoff titles and advanced to three consecutive Commissioner's Cup Finals.
Barry Soskin's tenure as majority owner ended in June 2025, after which ownership partner Cary Ross assumed control of the franchise. On September 24, the organization adopted the Twin City Thunderbirds name and unveiled a new logo. The team remained in the FPHL and continued to play at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Arena.
Twin City era In its first season under the Twin City name, the team finished fifth in the Continental Division and missed the playoffs, ending its run of three consecutive Finals appearances. Harrison was dismissed as head coach on April 17, 2026, and former team captain and player-assistant coach Jon Buttitta was appointed three days later. For the 2026–27 season, the FPHL placed Twin City in the Atlantic Division of its newly established Eastern Conference.
Season-by-season results Season Finish Playoffs Head coach 2017–18 56 25 24 5 2 87 .518 197 192 3rd of 8 Lost semifinals, 0–2 (Watertown) Andre Niec 2018–19 58 48 6 1 3 149 .856 266 116 1st of 6 Won semifinals, 2–0 (Port Huron); won Commissioner's Cup Finals, 3–1 (Elmira) Andre Niec 2019–20 46 33 6 2 5 108 .783 219 106 1st of 5, Western1st of 10, overall Playoffs not held; season curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic Andre Niec 2020–21 20 8 9 2 1 29 .483 75 61 3rd of 4 Did not qualify Andre Niec 2021–22 62 25 26 6 5 92 .495 243 242 5th of 7 Won quarterfinals, 2–0 (Port Huron); lost semifinals, 0–2 (Watertown) Garrett Rutledge 2022–23 56 33 12 7 4 117 .696 278 176 1st of 5, Continental2nd of 10, overall Won quarterfinals, 2–0 (Port Huron); won semifinals, 2–1 (Columbus); lost Commissioner's Cup Finals, 2–3 (Danbury) Garrett Rutledge 2023–24 56 32 12 8 4 116 .690 225 149 2nd of 6, Continental3rd of 11, overall Won quarterfinals, 2–1 (Port Huron); won semifinals, 2–1 (Columbus); lost Commissioner's Cup Finals, 0–3 (Binghamton) Steve Harrison 2024–25 56 38 11 3 4 124 .738 223 127 1st of 7, Continental2nd of 14, overall Won quarterfinals, 2–0 (Blue Ridge); won semifinals, 2–1 (Columbus); lost Commissioner's Cup Finals, 0–3 (Binghamton) Steve Harrison 2025–26 56 22 29 4 1 75 .446 193 207 5th of 7, Continental Did not qualify Steve Harrison
Awards Thunderbirds players and personnel have received the following annual league awards:
Award Recipient Season Regular-season MVP Josh Pietrantonio 2018–19 Regular-season MVP Kalib "Gus" Ford 2022–23 Commissioner's Cup Playoffs MVP Michael Bunn 2018–19 Forward of the Year Josh Pietrantonio 2017–18 Forward of the Year Josh Pietrantonio 2018–19 Forward of the Year Kalib "Gus" Ford 2022–23 Forward of the Year Lucas Rowe 2022–23 Forward of the Year Kalib "Gus" Ford 2023–24 Defenseman of the Year Mike Baker 2018–19 Defenseman of the Year Jiri Pestuka 2022–23 Goaltender of the Year Christian Pavlas 2018–19 Goaltender of the Year Mario Cavaliere 2023–24 Coach of the Year Andre Niec 2018–19 Coach of the Year Garrett Rutledge 2022–23 Rookie of the Year Lucas Rowe 2022–23 Executive of the Year Scott Brand 2017–18 Executive of the Year Barry Soskin (Carolina Thunderbirds, Danville Dashers, and Port Huron Prowlers) 2018–19 Founders Award Cary Ross 2023–24 Broadcaster of the Year Alec Kessler 2017–18 Broadcaster of the Year Zakharia DeBeaussaert 2018–19
Franchise records The following regular-season franchise records are current through the end of the 2025–26 season.
Category Player Total Games played Jiri Pestuka 343 Goals Kalib "Gus" Ford 189 Assists Kalib "Gus" Ford 247 Points Kalib "Gus" Ford 436
Attendance Average home attendance figures are from HockeyDB.
Season Average home attendance 2017–18 2,207 2018–19 2,714 2019–20 2,831 2020–21 No home games 2021–22 2,403 2022–23 2,878 2023–24 2,939 2024–25 2,976 2025–26 2,435
References
External links Official website