Pinder to return to Thunderbirds

What was a major piece to the Soo Thunderbirds puzzle last season in a run to the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League title will be returning for another kick at the can.

The Thunderbirds announced on Friday that Matt Pinder will return to the team for his final season of junior hockey in 2015-16.

Last season, Pinder scored 19 goals and 42 points in 47 games with the Thunderbirds while also finished second on the team with five power play goals. His three game-winning goals were third on the team.

In 14 playoff games, Pinder scored seven goals and 16 points in 14 games before leading the Dudley Hewitt Cup with four goals.

“Matthew is first and foremost a quality person who certainly represents what we look for in a Soo Thunderbird,” Thunderbirds General Manager Jamie Henderson said in a prepared statement. “Coming off a great season last year, Matthew will be expected to bring an even higher level of play game in and game out.”

Pinder joined the Thunderbirds prior to the 2014-15 season after spending the previous season with the Greater Ontario League’s Cambridge Winter Hawks where he posted 18 goals and 42 points in 48 games.

Prior to joining the Winter Hawks, Pinder spent three seasons with the Great North Midget League’s Soo North Stars. In 100 career games with the North Stars, Pinder scored 156 points.

The Thunderbirds prepare for the upcoming NOJHL season with a tryout camp beginning on Aug. 14.