Photo: Freeze Frame Photos
After losing 2 – 0 in Blind River on Friday, March 3rd to the second place west division Beavers, the third place (33-14-3-2) Soo Thunderbirds returned to west division action on the road Saturday, March 4th when they headed to Elliot Lake to meet the fifth place (17-32-1-2) Red Wings.
From in front of the Thunderbirds crease, Alex Antoine finds the back of the Soo’s net under Kolton Bourret’s catcher to give the Red Wings a 1 – 0 lead. Evan Dantas and Zachary Vickerman drew the helpers on Antoine’s 15th of the season 6:55 into the opening period. With a cross ice pass from Samuel Lake, Wyatt Marlow fires a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle just below Elliot Lake goaltender Cameron Smith blocker to pull the Thunderbirds even 1 – 1 at the 16:26 mark of the first. Kaden Dundas added the other assist on Marlow’s 24th of the season. To the left of the Red Wing’s James Kearney fires a pass to Brock Santa Maria at the right post of Smith’s net to sink the Soo’s go-ahead goal 65 seconds into the middle stanza. Michael Chaffay had the other contributor on Santa Maria’s 11th of the season. At 9:32 of the period from between the faceoff circles, Kearney lifts his third of the season over Smith’s blocker to bring the Soo’s lead to 3 – 1 with Jackson Truchan and Drahan Cap contributing on the Thunderbirds’ third of the game. Soo forward Jackson Truchan picks up a loose puck just inside the Elliot Lake blueline to fire a pass to Daniel Beaupre to sink the Thunderbirds’ fourth under Smith’s catcher to increase the lead to 4 – 1 at 17:06 of the second. Tyler Boudreau added the other helper on Beaupre’s 17th of the season.
Michael Chaffay catches a bouncing pass from Soo captain Brock Santa Maria to lift the visitors fifth into the back of the Red Wing net 2:03 into the third. Youssef Chaouachi drew the other assist on Chaffay’s 14th of the season. From the right faceoff circle, Sam Noad fires a wrist shot on to Bourret’s net to be tipped by Red Wing Silas Crawford at 8:10 to close the gap to three for Elliot Lake. Braeden Vis added the other contributor on Crawford’s 15th of the season. With the Soo shorthanded with a Elliot Lake five on three, Chaouachi picks up a loose puck at the red line to break in on Cameron Smith to score his 15th of the season at 11:24 for an unassisted goal. With 1:41 remaining in the Saturday contest in Elliot Lake, veteran Thunderbird forward Michael Chaffay sinks his 15th of the season unassisted with a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle to give the Soo a 7 – 2 win over the Red Wings. Elliot Lake goaltender Cameron Smith stopped 22 of 29 shots in the loss while Soo netminder Kolton Bourret turned away 28 of 30 shots in the Thunderbirds 34th win of the 2022 – 2023 season.
The Thunderbirds next opponent will be back in Sault Ste Marie on Friday, March 10th when they play host to the east division Powassan Voodoos in a 7:00 p.m start at the John Rhodes Centre.
