After earning a solid win in Iroquois Falls the night before, the Soo Thunderbirds wrapped up their three-game road swing on Sunday, November 16th, with an afternoon matchup against the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners. Despite a strong effort and a heavy shot advantage, the Thunderbirds came up just short in a 2–1 defeat at the Joe Mavrinac Community Complex.
The Soo struck first at 5:12 of the opening period when rookie forward Gavin Killoran continued his impressive season, netting his sixth of the year off feeds from Adam Pszeniczny and Jaxon Turnbull. Kirkland Lake responded late in the frame, capitalizing on a power play as Jake Williams tallied his seventh of the campaign at 18:44 to even the score heading into the intermission.
The Gold Miners took the lead midway through the second period when Ethan Alexander found the back of the net at 13:19, assisted by Owen O’Grady and Ryland Harvey. That marker would ultimately stand as the game-winner.
The Thunderbirds pushed hard in the third, generating numerous chances, but couldn’t solve Gold Miners goaltender Glen McInnes, who turned aside 35 of the 36 shots he faced in a first-star performance. Soo netminder Ryan Hicks was steady at the other end, stopping 21 of 23.
Thunderbird coach Jamie Henderson told Saultsports that “it’s a really disappointing weekend. Friday night we weren’t ready to compete. They basically bullied us all over the rink and it was a humbling result. Saturday, there was a better effort, but not a lot of detail in our defensive game we just outscored our mistakes.”
“Today, our special teams once again didn’t get the job done. Our power play specifically had a really rough weekend and we sit basically in the basement of the league. We continue to hand teams goals on a nightly basis and it’s difficult to overcome that most nights. They blocked a ton of shots today and their goalie played well. It’s a very disappointing ride home for sure and it only gets more difficult now next weekend when we travel back up north,” added Henderson.
With the road trip now complete, the Thunderbirds will look to regroup as they continue their time away from home, heading to Hearst for a 7:00 p.m. puck drop against the Lumberjacks in upcoming NOJHL action.
