The Twin City Thunder suffered another one-goal loss to the Junior Bruins.
The Bruins came away with a 3-2 victory in a USPHL NCDC New England division game at Norway Savings Bank Arena on Saturday.
The Junior Bruins also defeated the Thunder 2-1 on Friday.
Thunder coach Dan Hodge said the Thunder beat themselves Saturday.
“We took some ill-advised, selfish penalties and kind of bit us and cost us,” Hodge said. “It was a good game, but we were our own worst enemy at certain points tonight.”
Coleman Jenkins had the game-winning goal and an assist for the Junior Bruins (11-10-1, 23 points) in Saturday’s win.
Gavin Brandon put Twin City (6-13-2, 14 points) up 1-0 midway through the opening period, with forward Patrick Last and defenseman Leo Mantenuto setting the tally up.
It was the lone goal in the opening 20 minutes.
“For some reason, we cannot score two or more goals,” Hodge said. “The goaltending is doing their job with three or less goals a game. If you aren’t going to score goals, you aren’t going to win hockey games.”
Alex Scimeca scored early in the second period, tying the game at 1-1.
Liam Bard potted his first goal with the Junior Bruins on the power play with about eight minutes remaining in the middle frame for a 2-1 advantage.
It was the Bruins’ only goal on the man advantage, while the Thunder couldn’t convert on any of their chances.
Defenseman Tyler Kelly evened the game for the Thunder almost eight minutes into the third period when his shot got past Junior Bruins goalie Garrett Simpson (30 saves). Last notched his second assist of the game on the goal, and Cole Roenick provided the secondary assist.
“Patrick Last shot the puck off the crossbar and the puck found its way to Tyler, who put it in the net,” Hodge said. “That got us to 2-2 and then we lost our man in the (defensive) zone and a little cross-crease (pass) led to a tap-in goal for the eventual game-winner.”
Jenkins beat Thunder goalie Stefan Carney (36 saves) with under seven minutes remaining for the go-ahead goal.
The Thunder close out the first half of the season Friday when the Utica Jr. Comets visit Norway Savings Bank Arena.
Despite the recent struggles, there’s still light at the end of the tunnel for the final playoff spot.
“It’s not panic button time; we are four points behind the (Northern) Cyclones and we have some games in hand,” Hodge said. “We have to get some goal-scoring and some consistent effort.”
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