Thunderbirds beat Skyhawks in overtime thriller

The Soo Thunderbirds exacted a measure of revenge on the North Bay Skyhawks.

After the Skyhawks swept the Thunderbirds in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) championship series, the Soo had a chance to get even with North Bay at the Dudley-Hewitt Cup.

After opening the tournament with a loss, the Thunderbirds were desperately seeking a win against North Bay on Wednesday night and scored one in dramatic fashion with a goal by Tom Vernelli (in photo) in double overtime.

The 3-2 Thunderbirds victory over the rival Skyhawks in North Bay evens both teams' records at 1-1.

After a scoreless first period, Mike MacMillian opened the scoring 42 seconds into the second.

In the third period, North Bay tied the game 10:27 into the frame on a goal by Pat Power. D.J. Jelitto gave the Soo a 2-1 lead with 4:15 remaining but David Frawley answered 28 seconds later for the Skyhawks to tie the game at 2-2 and send the contest into overtime.

Casey Mapes recorded the win in net for the Soo.

The Thunderbirds will conclude the round robin portion of the Central Canadian Jr. A championship tournament on Thursday at 3 p.m. against the Fort William First Nation Stars.

In the earlier game on Wednesday, Sean Scully and Francis Walker scored twice and added two assists each as the Aurora Tigers defeated Fort William 4-0.

In Thursday evening's final round robin contest, North Bay will battle Aurora at 7:30 p.m.

The second and third place teams after the round robin will square off in the semi-final game on Friday with the winner advancing into Saturday's final against the first place team.

The Dudley-Hewitt Cup champion will advance to national championship Royal Bank Cup May 8-16 in Grande Prairie, Alberta.

*** STANDINGS:

(wins-loses-points)

Aurora 2-0-4 Soo Thunderbirds 1-1-2 North Bay 1-1-2 Fort William 0-2-0

PHOTO: File photo of Tom Vernelli courtesy of Jim Egan.

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