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Hockey Notebook: Thunderbirds enter GNML final

The Great North Midget League championship series between the Soo Thunderbirds and New Liskeard Cubs kicked off over the weekend in New Liskeard.

The Great North Midget League championship series between the Soo Thunderbirds and New Liskeard Cubs kicked off over the weekend in New Liskeard.

The Thunderbirds opened the series on Saturday night with a 4-2 win thanks to a pair of goals by Zach Taylor. Brad Thrower scored the eventual game-winning goal early in the third period and Matt MacKay sealed the win with an empty net goal in the final minute of the contest.

Calvin Chartrand had a goal and an assist for the Cubs while Cayse Ton had the other New Liskeard goal.

The Cubs rebounded on Saturday to beat the Thunderbirds 3-1 to even the series.

Gabriel Rheault scored a pair of goals for New Liskeard in game two while Cameron Moore also scored.

Brendan Gillis had the lone goal for the Thunderbirds on Saturday.

Game three in the series is scheduled for

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THUNDERBIRDS END REGULAR SEASON

In the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, the Soo Thunderbirds wrapped up the regular season on the road on Saturday night with an 11-0 win over the Blind River Beavers.

Joey Miller had two goals and an assist to lead the Thunderbirds offensively while Matt Caruso had a pair of goals. Brett Jeffries (one goal, two assists) and Owen Headrick (three assists) also had three-point nights for the Thunderbirds while Nic Sicoly (one goal, one assist), Nicolas Tassone (one goal, one assist), Caleb Boman (one goal, one assist), Eric Hillock (two assists) and Matt Pinder (two assists) also had multi-point nights. Jaren Bellini, Matthew Mitchell and Connor Dea also had goals for the Thunderbirds.

Brian Kment made 22 saves for the shutout.

The Thunderbirds finish the regular season with a record of 38-7-1-6 while Blind River falls to 0-50-0-1 heading into their regular season finale on Monday night in Sudbury.

The Thunderbirds first-round playoff series, which will be against the Beavers, is expected to get underway next week.

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EAGLES SPLIT ON ROAD

In North American Hockey League action, the Soo Eagles played a pair of road games against the Janesville Jets.

The Eagles opened the weekend with a 5-3 loss before finishing the weekend set on Saturday with a shootout win.

Janesville goaltender Matt Jurusik made 33 saves in the win on Friday while Zach LaValle had a goal and two assists offensively. Adam Winborg, Kevin Dineen, Drew Callin and Cullen Munson also scored for the Jets.

Trevor Cope had a goal and two assists for the Eagles while Brad Pung and Pat Gazzillo also scored.

On Saturday night, Cope, Darren Brady and Keegan Miller scored shootout goals to lift the Eagles to a 4-3 win. Leo Lumm, Matt Menta and Denver Pierce scored regulation time goals for the Eagles.

Munson, LaValle and Dan Kucerovy scored for the Jets.

The Eagles record now sits at 28-22-2 after the split.

The Eagles are back in action on home ice for a pair of games against the Keystone Ice Miners beginning on Mar. 13.

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LAKERS WRAP UP REGULAR SEASON

The Lake Superior State Lakers were on home ice for their final regular season games of the 2014-15 Western Collegiate Hockey Association season as they hosted Ferris State.

On Friday night, Gerald Mayhew scored a pair of goals to lead Ferris State to a 4-1 victory in the weekend opener. Zach Szajner added a goal and an assist for the Bulldogs while Simon Denis also scored.

Stephen Perfetto had the lone Lakers goal on Friday.

On Saturday night, Ferris State goaltender CJ. Motte stopped 24 shots as the Bulldogs blanked the Lakers to end the regular season. Justin Buzzeo had a goal and an assist while Chad McDonald assisted on two goals for Ferris State. Mayhew and Kenny Babinski also scored.

Goaltender Gorond Defiel stopped 29 shots for the Lakers.

With the sweep, the Lakers end the WCHA regular season with an 8-26-2 record (7-20-1 in conference) record.


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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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