Hockey Notebook: regular season begins on two fronts

The minor midget Soo Greyhounds capped off an exhibition series with the Belle Tire U16 team from Detroit on Sunday afternoon.

In a penalty-filled afternoon, the Greyhounds dropped a 9-1 decision on Sunday in a game that saw Belle Tire leading 8-0 through one period. The Greyhounds, already playing the game shorthanded due to injuries, would lose two more players in the opening period after a melee in front of the Belle Tire bench led to one Greyhound player being tossed for fighting while another was hit with a match penalty for spearing.

The Greyhounds would finish the game with just eight skaters after losing another player in a fight in the second period.

Steven Khull had the lone goal for the Greyhounds in Sunday’s loss.

Logan Cockerill had three goals and an assist for Belle Tire on Sunday while Jack Studnicka added two goals and an assist.

On Saturday night the two teams skated to a 4-4 tie.

Mark Tassone, Max Khull, Shadow Rueben and Holden Brock scored for the Greyhounds.

Despite being shorthanded due to suspensions, the Greyhounds are scheduled to travel to Hamilton to participate in the Tim Horton’s Midget AAA Tournament next weekend.

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THUNDERBIRDS MIDGETS COMPETE IN DETROIT

The Soo Thunderbirds midget team won the silver division championship over the weekend at the Honeybaked/Compuware Classic in Detroit.

The Thunderbirds opened the tournament with a 5-1 win over the Buffalo Regals. Jakob Porco and Lucas Miller had a pair of goals each for the Thunderbirds while Brendan Gillis also picked up a goal. Brad Thrower had three assists in the win.

In game two, the Thunderbirds dropped a 6-4 decision to the Sylvania Ohio North Stars in a game that saw them battle back from a 5-1 deficit to make the game 5-4. Porco added two more goals while Jared Fanti and Ryan Mulligan also scored for the Thunderbirds.

Game three saw the Thunderbirds drop a 4-0 decision to Honeybaked from Detroit.

Next up the Thunderbirds picked up a 2-1 victory over the Lansing Capitals. Jonathan Dyer and Matt MacKay scored for the Thunderbirds in the win.

In the silver division semi, Gillis would score a goal and an assist to lead the Thunderbirds to a 3-1 win over the Michigan Nationals. MacKay and Matt Murray also scored in the win.

In their final game of the weekend, the Thunderbirds skated to a 5-1 win over the Chicago Young Americans. Gillis scored a pair of goals in the win.
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ATTACK WIN OPENER

After falling behind 2-0, the Batchewana Attack won their regular season opener in the new Canadian International Hockey League thanks to six unanswered goals in a 6-2 win over the Espanola Rivermen.

Swedish defencema Johan Kling scored three times in the win while Jacob Palmerio, Darian Pilon and Rob DeLury also scored for the Attack.

Byron Sam and Andrei Yankovich scored for Espanola in the loss.

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EAGLES SPLIT ON ROAD

The North American Hockey League’s Soo Eagles skated to a split over the weekend on the road against the Springfield Jr. Blues.

On Friday night Springfield goaltender Dryden McKay made 33 saves as the Jr. Blues beat the Eagles 3-1.

Joey Lupo scored a pair of goals for Springfield in Friday’s win while Michael Crowley added a pair of assists.

Brad Pung had the lone goal on Friday for the Eagles.

The Eagles rebounded on Saturday night with a convincing 9-1 win. Trevor Cope (two goals, two assists), Sandis Zolmanis (one goal, three assists) and Bruno Birzitis (one goal, three assists) paced the Eagles offensively. Pung added two goals and an assist in the win.

Max Rasberg had the lone goal for Springfield in Saturday’s loss.

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LAKERS OPEN WCHA SEASON

The Lake Superior State Lakers hockey team opened their conference schedule over the weekend with a pair of games against in-state rival Michigan Tech, the first two games under new head coach Damon Whitten.

The Lakers dropped a 5-3 decision on Friday and wrapped up the weekend with a 5-1 loss on Sunday.

On Saturday, Michigan Tech scored three times in the third period to pick up the win. Tanner Kero and Alex Petan led the offensive attack for Michigan Tech with a goal and two assists each. Reid Sturos added a goal and an assist while Malcolm Gould and Blake Pietila also scored.

Daniel Vernace, Jason Bird and Garret Clemment scored for Lake State in Saturday’s loss.

On Sunday Michigan Tech scored four times in the second period to pick up the win. Blake Hietala scored a pair of goals for Michigan Tech while Dylan Steman and David Johnstone had a goal and an assist each. Pietila also scored in the win.

Ian Miller had the lone Lake State goal in Sunday’s loss.