Photo Credit: Saultsports Clips
After falling 7–4 to the Soo Eagles in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan on January 30th, the fifth-place Soo Thunderbirds (22-13-2-2) returned home Saturday night looking to respond as they welcomed the third-place Espanola Paper Kings (21-16-1-2) to the John Rhodes Centre in a crucial NOJHL matchup. With just three points separating the two clubs in the standings, the contest carried major playoff implications — and delivered nonstop drama.
The Thunderbirds struck first late in the opening period when Adam Pszeniczny continued his strong season, scoring his 12th goal at 13:27 off a setup from Jaxon Turnbull to give Soo a 1–0 lead after twenty minutes.
Momentum stayed with the home side early in the second as Pszeniczny struck again at 5:55, burying his 13th of the season and second of the game, assisted by Declan Gallivan and Deven Jones-McDonald to make it 2–0.
Espanola responded midway through the period as Carter Drigo got the Paper Kings on the board at 10:54, scoring his 16th of the season with assists from Joseph Coates and Wyatt Farries. The visitors pulled even just over two minutes later on the power play when Drigo notched his second of the contest and 17th of the season at 12:58, assisted by Owen Smith and Carter Makasoff.
The Thunderbirds quickly regained the lead at 13:22 when Max DeCoff found the back of the net for his fifth of the year off a feed from Aiden Atkinson. Soo extended the advantage at 17:27 as Landon Hill scored his 12th of the season, assisted by Vincent Bondy, making it 4–2.
Espanola refused to go away, cutting the deficit to one at 19:29 when Jason Galante tallied his eighth of the season with Graydon Guthrie picking up the assist. Just 21 seconds later, Carter Makasoff tied the game at 4–4, scoring his fourth of the season off a setup from Joseph Coates, sending the teams into the third period deadlocked.
The back-and-forth battle continued in the final frame. At 6:25, the Thunderbirds capitalized on the power play as Gavin Killoran buried his 16th goal of the season, assisted by Vincent Bondy and Landon Hill to make it 5–4.
Once again, Espanola answered late. With just under two minutes remaining in regulation, Michael Morascyzk tied the game at 18:14, scoring his 17th of the season with assists from Colton Loiselle and Owen Smith, forcing overtime.
In the extra frame, it was the Thunderbirds who delivered the knockout blow. At 6:43 of overtime, Aiden Atkinson ended the thriller with his 16th goal of the season and second point of the night, finishing a play set up by Adam Pszeniczny and Declan Gallivan to secure a dramatic 6–5 victory for Soo.
In goal for the Soo Thunderbirds, Nathan Maguire turned aside 27 of 32 shots in a hard-fought NOJHL overtime matchup, keeping his team competitive throughout the night. At the other end, Espanola Paper Kings netminder Logan Vale made 26 saves on 32 shots in the tightly contested overtime battle.
With the overtime win, the Thunderbirds earned a crucial two points in the tight NOJHL playoff race and showed strong resilience after their recent setback.
“We got off to a slow start be responded really well and dug deep to claw back and time the game 3 times actually. Our structure was better with minimal breakdowns. I felt our compete was high and our hunger to try to grab two points was there. As far as the over time I think that it was just bad luck. Coates was out for a long shift, it’s a tough change in overtime with the distance of the be chess away from the d zone. He caught an edge and just could recover, said Espanola coach Jason Rapcewicz.
The two teams won’t wait long for a rematch, as the Thunderbirds head to Espanola to face the Paper Kings once again on Friday, February 6th, with puck drop set for 7:30 p.m.
