Hockey Notebook: Plenty of action in the twin Sault area

It was a busy weekend for many hockey teams in the twin-Sault area.

The minor midget Soo Greyhounds were at the Warrior's Invitational tournament in Detroit where they went 1-3.

In their opening game, Justin Ryypo and Nicholas smith had goals in a 7-2 loss to Belle Tire.

Game two saw the Greyhounds drop a 4-2 decision to another Detroit-based team in Little Caesars. Gage Stephney and Shadow Rueben scored in the loss.

The greyhounds picked up their lone win of the weekend with an 8-0 victory in game three over St. Francis of Buffalo, NY. Smith and Stephney had two goals each in the win. Zack Taylor, Holden Brock, Max Khull and Mark Tassone scored in the win. Garrett Boyonoski picked up the shutout.

The Greyhoinds wrapped up the tournament with a 3-0 loss to Guelph.

The team returns to action this weekend with an exhibition series in Sudbury against the Jr. Wolves.

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In major midget action, the Soo Thunderbirds continued their Great North Midget League schedule with three games against the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves.

The Thunderbirds dropped two of three to Sudbury, including one of the losses coming in overtime.

The Thunderbirds opened the weekend set with a 4-3 overtime loss on Friday. Alex Guido had the overtime winner for Sudbury while Thomas Farrell added a pair of goals in the win. Kirk Trayner also scored for the Wolves.

Zach Senecal, Jared Fanti and Lucas Miller scored for the Thunderbirds/

On Saturday, the Thunderbirds rebounded for a 3-2 overtime win thanks to a goal by Matt MacKay at 2:57 of the extra period. Brad Thrower and Matt Murray also scored for the Thunderbirds while Jake Stos and Ryan Theriault scored for Sudbury in the loss.

Sudbury capped the weekend off with a 6-2 win over the Thunderbirds on Sunday afternoon. Eric Paquette scored a pair of goals in the win for Sudbury. Theriault, Anthony Pelletier and Noah Blackwell also scored for the Wolves. Senecal and Brendan Gillis scored on Sunday for the Thunderbirds.

The Thunderbirds will make their first GNML road trip next weekend with games in New Liskeard, Kapuskasing and Timmins.

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The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Soo Thunderbirds were ranked 14th in the recent Canadian Junior Hockey League rankings released earlier this week.

The team, which has won nine straight, is coming off a weekend sweep of the Mattawa Blackhawks in Mattawa over the weekend.

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Coming off a 6-2 win over St. Charles in Canadian International Hockey League action over the weekend, the Batchewana Attack will put their perfect 5-0 record on the line in three games this weekend.

The team will face the Espanola Rivermen on Friday night in league action before a pair of road exhibition games.

The Attack will face the Kalkaska Rhinos on Saturday and Sunday in Kalkaska. The Rhinos are coached by former NHL tough guy Krzysztof Oliwa.

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The North American Hockey League’s Soo Eagles take a 7-7-0 record into weekend action on the road against the Michigan Warriors.

The Eagles dropped a pair of games on home ice over the weekend to the Janesville Jets, losing 9-1 on Friday night and 4-2 on Saturday.

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Things continue to be tough for the Lake Superior State Lakers hockey team as they fell to 0-6 after a weekend sweep at the hands of Notre Dame.

At 0-6, the team is off to their worst start to the season since going 1-5 in their first six games of the 2004-05 season.

Lake State hosts Northern Michigan this weekend before a pair of lengthy road trips that will see them spend one weekend at Alaska Anchorage and the following weekend at Alabama-Huntsville.