Shea Chorney and Gianmarco Mastroianni lead the Soo Thunderbirds in a close Saturday victory.
A Drew Christian shorthanded goal with just over four minutes left in regulation lifted the Soo Thunderbirds to a tight 5-4 win over the Soo Eagles Saturday night in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) action at Pullar Stadium.
The teams traded goals early in the first period. Gianmarco Mastroianni scored on the power play for the Thunderbirds at 3:10, only for Ilian Danilov to tie it for the Eagles 29 seconds later. The home side then took the lead when Nolan Nemecek fired a shot from behind the T-Birds’ net for his seventh of the season.
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The Eagles extended their lead early in the second period as Brendan Boberg made it 3-1. This led to a goaltending change for the Thunderbirds, with Cameron Boville replacing Ryan Hicks.
The Thunderbirds began their rally midway through the frame. James Legler scored on the man advantage, set up by Shea Chorney, to pull the Thunderbirds back within one. Jaxon Turnbull then tied the game 3-3 with another power-play goal, directing a crisp pass from Chorney past Eagles netminder Jace Knoerle for his first in the league.
The visitors regained the lead when Rhys Bonvie wired a shot through Knoerle. The eventual game-winner came while the Thunderbirds were shorthanded, as Christian snapped one through the five-hole with 4:02 remaining.
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The Eagles’ Logan Stawizynski scored with
an extra attacker in the final moments, but it was the final marker of the contest. The Thunderbirds skated away with the victory, completing the weekend home-and-home sweep.
The win moves the Thunderbirds’ record to 10-3-1-1 in league play, while the Eagles fell to 4-12-0-1 overall.