Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos
Coming off a hard-fought 3–3 tie on March 5 against the Sudbury Cubs, the Soo Thunderbirds returned home to the John Rhodes Centre on Friday, March 6, where they delivered an offensive outburst in an 11–2 victory over the French River Rapids in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League action.
Friday’s matchup also featured several local connections, as Soo U18 Greyhounds Jacob Vincent, Aiden Giovanatti, and goaltender Gavin Zuccato, along with Soo U16 standout Ben McKinlay, suited up for the visiting Rapids.
French River opened the scoring early in the first period when Noah Saye netted his second goal of the season at 2:31, converting a setup from Nolan McVeigh and Jack Wilson to give the Rapids a 1–0 lead.
The Thunderbirds responded quickly. At 5:26, Jaxon Turnbull buried his sixth of the season off assists from Rhys Bonvie and Vincent Bondy to even the game at 1–1. The Soo then grabbed the lead at 12:26 when Adam Pszeniczny scored his 19th of the campaign with Gavin Killoran picking up the helper.
Special teams helped the Thunderbirds pull away late in the opening frame. On the power play at 14:49, Owen Murphy fired home his sixth of the season with assists from Aiden Atkinson and Declan Gallivan. Just over two minutes later, the Soo capitalized again with the man advantage as Adam Pszeniczny struck for his second of the night and 20th of the season at 17:07, assisted by Vincent Bondy and Landon Hill, giving the Thunderbirds a commanding 4–1 lead after twenty minutes.
The Soo continued to build momentum early in the second period. Just 58 seconds in, Landon Hill notched his 14th of the season unassisted to extend the lead to 5–1.
The third period turned into a scoring showcase for the home side. Wyatt Groth opened the frame with a shorthanded goal at 3:00, his 13th of the year, to make it 6–1. On another power play at 7:17, Landon Hill scored his second goal of the game and 15th of the season off assists from Vincent Bondy and Adam Pszeniczny.
The Thunderbirds continued their offensive surge as James Legler recorded his 21st of the season at 8:38 with Brayden Gosselin assisting. Less than two minutes later, Jaxon Turnbull picked up his second of the night and seventh of the year at 10:01, converting passes from Declan Gallivan and Vincent Bondy.
Late in the period, the Soo’s power play struck again. At 17:43, Gavin Killoran scored his 20th of the season with assists from Aiden Atkinson and Brady Real. Just 34 seconds later, Killoran added another—his second of the game and 21st of the season—off feeds from Brady Real and Drew Christian, pushing the Thunderbirds’ total to eleven goals.
French River managed to add one more late in the game as Jack Wilson scored his seventh of the season at 19:21, assisted by Noah Saye, to round out the scoring at 11–2.
In goal, the Rapids split duties between Matis Bureau-Morel and Gavin Zuccato, combining to stop 50 of the 61 shots they faced. At the other end, Ryan Hicks turned aside 29 of 31 shots for the Thunderbirds to earn his eighth win of the season.
Check out Freeze Frame Photos by Bob Davies photo gallery of the Soo Thunderbirds versus French River Rapids in NOJHL action.
The Rapids will now head across the St. Mary’s River for a Saturday, March 7 matchup against the Soo Eagles in a 7:00 p.m. start, while the Thunderbirds return to action on Sunday, March 8 when they host the Hearst Lumberjacks in a 2:00 p.m. afternoon matinee at the John Rhodes Centre.
