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A late-game push lifted the Soo Thunderbirds to not only a victory on Saturday night but a regular season title as well.

A late-game push lifted the Soo Thunderbirds to not only a victory on Saturday night but a regular season title as well.

The Thunderbirds scored twice in the final 92 seconds of regulation time to beat the Sudbury Nickel Barons 5-4 and clinch the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League’s regular season title in the process,

Trailing 3-2 heading into the final period, Kyle Fransen scored a power play goal 1:51 into the third to tie the game and Jimmy Roy gave the Nickel Barons the lead at 7:33.

With 1:32 left in the frame, Devin Shell beat Sudbury goaltender Kevin Labelle to tie the game at four and set the stage for Joey Miller to become the game hero.

Miller potted his second goal of the night on the power play with 33 seconds left in regulation time to give the Thunderbirds the win and the league title.

Miller also picked up an assist in addition to his two goals in the game while Shell had a goal and two assists. Caleb Boman assisted on three goals for the Thunderbirds. Nicolas Tassone and Anthony Miller also scored for the Thunderbirds while goaltender Brian Kment stopped 22 shots.

Roy and Fransen had a goal and an assist each for the Nickel Barons while Labelle made 33 saves. Eric Champagne and Eric Paquette also scored for Sudbury.

The Thunderbirds record improves to 37-6-1-5 while the Nickel Barons fall to 29-15-1-3.

The Thunderbirds have three games remaining in the NOJHL regular season, all next week, beginning with a road game on Mar. 4 when they travel to Sudbury to take on the Nickel Barons. On Mar. 7 the Thunderbirds play their final home game of the regular season when they host the Elliot Lake Wildcats before wrapping up the regular season the following night in Blind River against the Beavers.


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Brad Coccimiglio

About the Author: Brad Coccimiglio

A graduate of Loyalist College’s Sports Journalism program, Brad Coccimiglio’s work has appeared in The Hockey News as well as online at FoxSports.com in addition to regular freelance work with SooToday before joining the team full time.
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