The Soo Thunderbirds opened their three-game NOJHL road trip with a statement performance on Friday, January 23rd, battling toe-to-toe with the second-place Timmins Rock before suffering a heartbreaking 6–5 overtime loss at the McIntyre Arena.
The sixth-place Thunderbirds (20-12-2-1) wasted no time setting the tone, striking first at 3:18 of the opening period. Aiden Atkinson continued his strong season, finishing off a play set up by Landon Hill and Deven Jones-McDonald to give the Soo an early 1–0 lead. Timmins (27-6-0-1) answered back at 5:29 when Edan Etheridge beat Ryan Hicks, with Evan Katic picking up the lone assist.
The back-and-forth pace continued as Gavin Killoran restored the Thunderbirds’ lead at 11:52, burying his 13th of the season off a feed from Jaxon Turnbull. Less than thirty seconds later, the Rock responded again, as Matthew Kim found the back of the net at 12:20, assisted by Jack Quevillon and Maxfeld Shin, sending the game into the intermission tied 2–2.
The Soo regained momentum early in the second period. Just 53 seconds in, Wyatt Groth finished off a play from Vincent Bondy to make it 3–2 Thunderbirds. Timmins capitalized on a powerplay opportunity at 2:22, however, as Maxx Hamelin converted with Matteo Paradiso recording the assist, knotting the game at 3–3 heading into the third.
The Rock took their first lead of the night early in the final frame when Diego Da Silva scored a powerplay goal at 1:26, his league-leading 22nd of the season, with Braedyn Cyr earning the helper. Timmins extended the lead at 8:43 as Thomas Beard made it 5–3, finishing a setup from Matthew Kim and Nolan Masson.
Refusing to go quietly, the Thunderbirds mounted a late comeback. Vincent Bondy pulled the Soo within one at 13:46 with an unassisted powerplay marker, setting up a tense finish. With Ryan Hicks on the bench for an extra attacker, Atkinson delivered again, scoring his second of the game and 13th of the season with 15.8 seconds remaining in regulation and assisted by Jones-McDonald, to force overtime.
The extra frame was short-lived. Just 44 seconds in, Braedyn Cyr ended the contest, wiring home the overtime winner for Timmins, with Kaeden McArthur picking up the assist, sealing a 6–5 Rock victory.
In goal, Ryan Hicks turned aside 22 of 28 shots for the Thunderbirds, while Ayden Mullen earned the win for Timmins with 29 saves on 34 shots.
Despite the overtime loss, the Thunderbirds showed resilience against one of the NOJHL’s top teams and will look to carry that effort into the second stop of their road trip. The Soo heads to Iroquois Falls on Saturday, January 24th, to face the Storm at the Jus Jordan Arena.
