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HOCKEY NOTES: Thunderbirds drop another in Newmarket

The Soo Thunderbirds dropped their second consecutive game at the Newmarket Showcase Tournament on Sunday afternoon.

The Soo Thunderbirds dropped their second consecutive game at the Newmarket Showcase Tournament on Sunday afternoon.

After a tight 4-3 loss to the Syracuse Stars in their tournament opener on Saturday, the Thunderbirds were hammered 7-2 by the Mississauga Chargers on Sunday to give the Soo an 0-2 record at the heavily scouted junior A tournament.

The Thunderbirds, from the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, complete their final game on Monday morning against the Vaughan Vipers.

The Sudbury Northern Wolves, the other NOJHL representative in the tournament, dropped their two games on Sunday to finish with a 1-2 record. The Wolves fell 4-1 to Thornhill before losing 5-3 to Milton.

Scoring details from the games were not available.

*** HOLIDAY CLASSIC:

The Soo Greyhounds AAA Bantams gained another point at the International Holiday Classic Hockey Tournament in Toronto on Sunday.

The local entry in the minor bantam division gained a 2-2 tie with the Syracuse Stars after opening the tournament with a pair of 2-0 wins over the Don Mills Flyers and Oshawa O.M.S. on Saturday.

The bantam Hounds now sit at 2-0-1 with one game remaining in the preliminary round on Monday morning against the Philadelphia Phantoms.

In the bantam major division, the Soo Thunder concluded the tournament with a 2-2 record after splitting a pair of games on Sunday. The Thunder fell 5-1 to the Toronto Young Nationals before blanking Team Illinois 3-0.

The Thunder opened the tournament on Saturday with a 3-2 win over the Oakville Rangers and a 5-4 loss to the New Jersey Rockets.

*** CARTER ASSISTS IN WIN:

Soo Greyhounds captain Jeff Carter picked up an assist in Canada's 7-2 win over Switzerland at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Finland on Sunday. The point was Carter's first in the tournament.

Carter, who has been exceptional in winning faceoffs during the first two games, has been a physical force along with linemates Brent Burns from the National Hockey League's Minnesota Wild and the Calgary Hitmen's Ryan Getzlaf. On Sunday, Getzlaf scored twice while Burns added two assists.

Team Canada's next game is Monday against the Ukraine beginning at 11 a.m. on The Sports Network (TSN).

*** LAWRENCE ON THE ROCK:

Greyhounds first round draft pick Chris Lawrence is currently competing for Team Ontario at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in St. John's Newfoundland. Lawrence is joined on the team by Greyhound goaltending prospect Kyle Gajewski.

Team Ontario opened with a 5-2 exhibition win against Slovakia on Sunday before beginning the tournament against Finland on Monday.

Like Carter, Lawrence will be lost from the Greyhounds lineup until January 9th.

*** EXTENDED VACATION:

Several members of the Soo Greyhounds took an extended Christmas vacation when seven players failed to report back to the Sault in time for practise on Friday evening.

Greyhounds head coach Marty Abrams was irked with the poor travel arrangements and the lack of a full team at practise, something he plans to address for the future.


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