Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos

The Soo Thunderbirds closed out their 2025–2026 regular season in impressive fashion on home ice, defeating the visiting Blind River Beavers 5–0 at the John Rhodes Centre in Sault Ste. Marie. With both teams heading in different directions—Soo preparing for the upcoming Copeland McNamara Cup playoffs and Blind River missing the postseason for the first time since 2016—the Thunderbirds delivered a strong all-around performance highlighted by a hat trick from Owen Murphy and a shutout effort from goaltender Ryan Hicks.

The Thunderbirds entered the contest already knowing their playoff fate, as they will face the Timmins Rock in a best-of-seven quarter-final series in the Copeland McNamara Cup playoffs.

Soo opened the scoring midway through the first period. At 5:36, Landon Hill scored his 17th goal of the season, finishing a play set up by Jayden Arnold and Wyatt Groth to give the Thunderbirds a 1–0 lead.

Later in the period, Soo extended their advantage. At 12:53, Owen Murphy scored his 8th goal of the season, with assists going to Rhys Bonvie and Vincent Bondy, making it 2–0 for the home side heading into the intermission.

The Thunderbirds continued to apply pressure in the second period. At 6:15, Gavin Killoran found the back of the net for his 22nd goal of the season, assisted by Deven Jones-McDonald, stretching the lead to 3–0.

Soo struck again on the power play at 14:08 when Owen Murphy scored his 9th goal of the season and second of the game, converting a setup from Declan Gallivan and Deven Jones-McDonald to give the Thunderbirds a 4–0 advantage.

Murphy completed his standout night in the third period. At 7:13, the Thunderbirds capitalized once again on the power play as Murphy scored his 10th goal of the season, completing his first hat trick of the season. The goal was assisted by Declan Gallivan and Aiden Atkinson, sealing the 5–0 victory for Soo.

In goal, Ryan Hicks was perfect for the Thunderbirds, stopping all 26 shots he faced to record his second shutout of the regular season. At the other end, Justin Sullivan made 17 saves on 22 shots in what was his 20th loss of the season.

The game also marked the final junior ‘A’ appearance for both starting goaltenders. Justin Sullivan of New Richmond, Quebec, for the Blind River Beavers, and Ryan Hicks of Weyburn, Saskatchewan, for the Soo Thunderbirds, each saw action between the pipes as they concluded their junior careers.

With the regular season now complete, the Soo Thunderbirds turn their focus to the postseason, where they will battle the Timmins Rock in the quarter-final round of the Copeland McNamara Cup playoffs.