Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos

With both teams sitting at 41 points each, the fourth place (19-9-2-1) Soo Thunderbirds headed across the St Mary’s River to face the fifth place (20-13-0-1) Soo Eagle at the Pullar Stadium in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan for a west division contest on January 5th. In their last meeting back on December 16th, the Thunderbirds edged the Eagles 3 – 2.

At 8:54 of the opening period and on a powerplay, Eagle Benjamin Pouliot picked up a rebound just to the right of Thunderbird netminder Kolton Bourret’s right post to slide the hosts first and only goal of the game to give the Eagles a 1 – 0 lead. Nolan Hendry and Jack Paweski notched the assists on Pouliot’s 17th of the season. Camden Cowan spins a three sixty around an Eagle defenseman in the left faceoff circle to roof the tying goal over Eagle goaltender Marino Ramirez left shoulder to pull the visitors even 1 – 1 at the 5:42 mark of the third. Lucas DiBerardino and Thomas Degagne drew the helpers on Cowan’s first career NOJHL goal. With 52 seconds remaining in the three on three overtime, Callum McAuley picks up a loose puck in the right faceoff circle to rifle a wrist shot over Ramirez’s right shoulder to give the Thunderbirds a 2 – 1 overtime win. Defenseman Quinn Myles had the lone contributor on McAuley’s sixth of the season. Eagle goaltender Marino Ramirez stopped 33 of 35 shots in the loss while Thunderbird netminder Kolton Bourret turned away 32 of 33 shots in the Thunderbirds twentieth win of the 2023 – 2024 season.

The Thunderbirds will now host the Elliot Lake Vikings on Saturday, January 6th in a 7:00 p.m start at the John Rhodes Centre. The Vikings are coming off a 9 – 1 loss to the Blind River Beavers on January 5th in Massey.