Thunderbirds skate to 3-1 win vs. Gold Miners

KIRKLAND LAKE, Ont. – Getting a goal in each period helped the Soo Thunderbirds skate to an eventual 3-1 road victory over the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League action Friday at the Joe Mavrinac Community Complex.

It took just 16 seconds for the Thunderbirds to take flight as Kelsey Ouellet whipped one over the blocker of Gold Miners’ starter Keaton Lyons.

Things settled down after that quick strike as the two sides reached the intermission with the same score line.

In the second period, Kirkland Lake came back to tie it on Jacob Hiltz’s sixth of the season as he was the beneficiary of a bouncing puck, which allowed him to spin and wire one past Sault Ste. Marie’s Noah Metivier.

The Thunderbirds did regain the lead before the session came to a close with Kenny Belanger Jr. being the goal scorer right off a face off win.

Third period play saw the Soo strike on a late two-man advantage that saw some crisp passing that was eventually finished off by Brock Santa Maria with just over four and a half minutes remaining to round out the scoring.

In getting the win, Metivier picked up his 14th of the season, which leads all rookie goalkeepers.

The Thunderbirds continue a three-game road trip in Powassan Saturday while the Gold Miners remain at home as they host Blind River in a pair of 7 p.m. starts.