The Thunder beat the West Auckland Admirals 6-3 in the second of two games in Dunedin.
It had edged closer to registering a breakthrough win with a 2-0 loss to the Admirals on Friday night.
The home team bounced back on Saturday with a strong performance.
Tristan Darling, Luc Taillon and Jack Lewis slid the puck in during the opening period.
The Admirals rallied in the second with a couple of quick goals.
Paris Heyd scored a fourth for the Thunder, which took a 4-2 lead into the final period.
Justin Daigle gave the visitors hope with a third.
But the Thunder completed the win with goals to Lewis and Noah Gregory.
With an ounce of luck, the Thunder might have won Friday’s match, as well.
The Thunder threatened to score two or three in the first period.
But the post denied Heyd a goal and the Admirals always found a way to scramble out of trouble.
Then with just over six minutes remaining in the period, Riley Smith smacked the puck in the net to convert a powerplay.
Heyd was denied again early in the second period, this time by the goalie’s shoulder.
Sam Mosses slapped in a second goal for the Admirals early in the third period to seal the win.
The Thunder started the season with back-to-back losses to both the Stampede and the Botany Swarm.
