Thunderbirds drop RBC opener

Soo Thunderbirds Coach Jordan Smith called it a lesson.

The Thunderbirds opened the 2015 RBC Cup in Portage La Prairie, Man. on Saturday night with a 4-0 loss to the Central Canada Hockey League’s Carleton Place Canadians on day one of the tournament.

Following the loss, Smith was not pleased with the effort put in by the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, and Dudley Hewitt Cup, champions.

“We didn’t play well at all,” said Smith. “We didn’t move our feet. We were puck-watching. It’s not the effort we expected. Like I told the players, it’s only day one here.

“(Carleton Place) taught us a bit of a lesson here tonight about what it takes in order to be successful,” Smith added.

The Thunderbirds had a lengthy 5-on-3 power play in the opening period when Carleton Place took three penalties in a span of 60 seconds but the NOJHL champions couldn’t capitalize.

“We were on the 5-on-3 for over two minutes and I don’t know if we even registered a shot,” Smith said. “You can contribute that to a little bit of nerves but at the end of the day we need to get settled in here. We need to understand that you’ve got to take advantage of your opportunities. It was an eye-opener today for us.”

Mario Culina made 32 saves for the Thunderbirds.

“He was outstanding,” Smith said of the rookie netminder. “He kept the game close. For a majority of the game. We had too many breakdowns in our zone and that’s basically what their goals came off of was defensive and mental lapses that, in this tournament, you just can’t make against teams like Carleton Place.”

Smith said the plan is for Brian Kment to start on Monday night in their second game of the tournament against the Melfort Mustangs.

Jordan Larson scored a pair of goals and assisted on another for the Canadians while Andy Sturtz had a goal and two assists. Wesley Baker also scored for Carleton Place.

Goaltender Guillaume Therien stopped 26 shots for the shutout.

With an off-day on Sunday, Smith said the plan is to skate in the morning.

“We’ve got to get that good feeling back in our room,” Smith said. “It’s only human nature for the guys to doubt themselves a bit but when you don’t really give yourself a chance to win it’s hard to critique the game. It’s not won on Saturday night here. We need to move forward and try to find a way to win on Monday.”

For the Canadians, the 2015 tournament marks the second consecutive appearance in the event for the team as Carleton Place dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the Yorkton Terriers in the 2014 tournament final.

The other game on opening day saw the host team, the Portage Terriers beat the Penticton Vees 3-2. Tanner Jago’s goal with 7:50 left in the third period was the game-winner for the Terriers. Brent Orr and Shawn Bowles also scored for Portage.

Patrick Newell had both goals for Penticton.

The Vees are back in action on Sunday afternoon when they face the Melfort (Sask.) Mustangs in the afternoon game while Portage will face Carleton Place in the evening game.