Thunderbirds clipped in Sudbury

The Soo Thunderbirds and Sudbury Northern Wolves combined for seven goals in the third period on Wednesday night in the Nickel City which saw the Northern Wolves escape with a 6-5 Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League win.

After Justin Shelleby gave the Thunderbirds a 1-0 lead on the power play 6:21 into the game, Sudbury reeled off four straight goals to take a 4-1 lead by the one minute mark of the third period.

Zac McNally, Grant McGee, Ryan Maunu and Nick Minardi scored in the third period for the Thunderbirds but goals by Brian McGarry and Brenden Biedermann was enough for the Northern Wolves to escape with the win.

McGarry scored twice on the night while Sudbury's other goals went to Stephen Miller, Jordan Cheechoo and Nick Heins. McGarry added three assists while Biedermann set up a pair.

Minardi added a pair of assists for the Thunderbirds while Maunu, McGee and McNally each set up another for two point nights.

Darren Rowlandson stopped 27 of 32 shots in goal for the win while Travis O'Brien took the loss after blocking 29 of 35 shots.

Tempers flared in the third period before a second had even ticked off the clock as the Soo's Chris Towell and Sudbury's Daniel Frawley were each penalized for fighting, leaving the bench and given game misconducts.

The first place Thunderbirds, who now sit at 10-6 on the season, return to action on Sunday night as the Manitoulin Islanders visit the John Rhodes Community Centre for a 7 p.m. start.