T-Birds win, lose and draw in Newmarket (15 photos)

The Soo Thunderbirds returned home from the Rogers Television OPJHL Jr. A Showcase Tournament in Newmarket with a win, loss and a tie in three round robin games.

The record was not enough for the Thunderbirds to earn either the division championship or a wildcard spot to move into Thursday's quarterfinal round.

To open the tournament on Tuesday morning, the Thunderbirds took a 7-1 beating at the hands of the Syracuse Stars A squad. Later that day, the T-Birds played to a 3-3 deadlock with the New York Bobcats. The Soo finished the tournament with a 4-2 win over the Bramalea Blues.

Drew Jarrett scored a shorthanded goal and added an assist while Ryan Maun also added a goal and an assist in the win over Bramalea. Singles went to Kyle Rodgers and Grant McGee while Chris Towell recorded three assists and Mike McMillan two. Travis O'Brien picked up the win in goal.

Matt Conway, on the power play, and McMillan each picked up a goal and an assist in the 3-3 draw with New York. Maunu added a shorthanded marker and Michael Maulucci took the decision in net.

McMillan scored the lone goal on the power play in the loss to Syracuse.

The Thunderbirds return to Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League action on Wednesday in Sudbury against the Junior Wolves. Their next home action is Friday, Jan. 13 against Sudbury at the John Rhodes Community Centre.

*** MCMILLAN CAPTURES PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOURS:

The Soo Thunderbirds continue to dominate the NOJHL award selections.

After Ryan Maunu captured back-to-back Player of the Month honours, Mike McMillan has been named as NOJHL Player of the Week for the week ending December 18th. In three games, the 20 year-old native of Sault Ste. Marie registered 11 points, including six goals in helping the T-Birds pick up five of a possible six points. The three-game span, which included a pair of five point games, vaulted McMillan into third place in league scoring with 42 points, well back of Maunu and Sudbury's Brian McGarry.

Maunu and Abitibi forward Matt Brunet also received consideration for the weekly award.

*** 15 PHOTOS:

The following link contains 15 photos from the Thunderbirds final three NOJHL contests before the holiday break. All Thunderbird photos on SooToday.com are courtesy of Jim Egan.