The second place Soo Thunderbirds (17-8-1-1) kicked off their weekend on a strong note Friday night, heading into Noelville and securing a convincing victory over the eleventh place French River Rapids (4-22-0-1) in NOJHL regular season action on December 5th.

The Thunderbirds wasted little time setting the tone in the opening period. At 2:56, veteran forward Deven Jones-McDonald continued his impressive season by netting his 14th goal, with Aiden Atkinson and James Legler collecting assists. Legler followed up just eight minutes later, burying his 13th of the year at 10:46 on a setup from Grady Holden and Jones-McDonald, giving the visitors early control. Landon Hill added to the surge at 17:31, scoring his eighth of the campaign off a feed from Jayden Arnold, sending the Soo into the first intermission up 3–0.

The Thunderbirds kept their foot on the gas in the second period. Just 1:47 in, Adam Pszeniczny struck for his tenth of the season with help from Shea Chornley, extending the cushion to four. Then, with just nine seconds remaining in the frame, Jaden van de Ven notched his first NOJHL goal, assisted by Issy Parsa, giving the Soo a commanding 5–0 lead through forty minutes.

French River managed to break the shutout in the third, as Bryson Villeneuve scored unassisted at 1:40. However, that was the lone blemish on an otherwise steady night for Soo goaltender Cam Boville, who turned aside 15 of 16 shots. At the other end, Rapids netminder Keiran Caughran faced heavy pressure, stopping 24 of 29 Soo attempts.

With the win, the Thunderbirds continue to keep pace near the top of the NOJHL standings. They now return home to Sault Ste. Marie for a Saturday, December 6th matchup against the Timmins Rock at the John Rhodes Centre. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m., as the Soo looks to close out the weekend with another strong performance.