Thunderbirds drop shootout to Beavers

Resiliency was the word of the day for the Soo Thunderbirds on Sunday evening when they faced off against the Blind River Beavers.

With the Provenzano Cup wrapped up, the Thunderbirds were looking to run their winning streak over the Beavers this season to seven games.

In order to do so, they had to do it without the services of four key players as Zac McNally, Chris Towell, Justin Shelleby, and Tyler Lannigan were all out of the linup due to suspensions thanks to Friday night's altercation with the Sudbury Northern Wolves.

The Beavers looked to take advantage of the situation as the Thunderbirds were down to just 12 skaters for the game. And take advantage they did as the Beavers defeated the Thunderbirds 7-6 in a shootout to earn their first win over the Thunderbirds this season in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League action at the John Rhodes Community Centre.

The Thunderbirds opened the scoring at 6:30 of the first period when Ryan Maunu beat Andre Laperriere in the Beavers goal. Shane Bailey got the Beavers on the board as he scored a pair of goals just under four minutes apart on Soo goaltender Travis O'Brien.

Tyler Gendron got the Thunderbirds back on even terms at 14:26 with a power play goal but Jesse Gionette sent the game into the first intermission with the Beavers leading 3-2 as he potted a power play goal at 17:04.

A three-goal second period for the Beavers allowed the visitors to increase their lead as Nathan Peterson scored a pair of goals, the first coming on a two-man advantage while Bailey capped it off with his third goal of the game. Ryan Maunu kept the Thunderbirds within three as he picked up his second of the night.

In the third period, Mike McMillan got the Thunderbirds to within two goals as he scored just 58 seconds into the period. A pair of power play goals, by Kyle Rodgers at 9:37 and Tyler Gendron in the game's final minute, sent the game into overtime, guaranteeing each team a point.

After a scoreless overtime, the two teams moved on to a shootout. After Rodgers of the Thunderbirds and Matt Irving of the Beavers both missed their opportunities, Matt French and Sam Yearsley put pressure on the Soo shooters, both by beating O'Brien. McMillan, Maunu, and Mark Thorburn each were stopped by Laperriere giving the Beavers the win.

"Right at the beginning of the game we knew we were faced with some adversity," said Thunderbirds coach Pat Carricato. "We're not going to make excuses, that's what we have and that was what we were going to go out with. We talked about it and decided that we're not going to be satisfied without a win.

"It was nice to see (the team come back)," Carricato added. "Me and Dave Watson went in there (before the third period) and we told the players 'Let's see what we're made of.' They come out and work their butts off and battled back. As coaches, that's all you can ask. Aside from the second period, I was happy."

Beavers coach Jim Capy was pleased with his team's play, although discipline was a concern.

"I thought we gave a better effort tonight (than in previous games)," Capy said. "I wasn't happy with our discipline though, I thought we took some bad penalties that kept them in the game. We were up 6-3 and there's really no need to take some bad penalties. With their short bench, if you give them a chance to get their skills guys out in an odd man situation they're going to burn you.

"Fortunately for us our goaltender made some key saves in the shootout," Capy added.

"It was nice to get a break," Capy went on to say. "We don't get a lot of breaks (offensively) against this team. Usually you have to work hard to make your own breaks but for six games we haven't done that against these guys. For the most part, I thought we gave a more concerted effort. Not necessarily stuck to the game plan that we wanted but we competed a lot harder."

The Thunderbirds will wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule with one more home game, set for Wednesday night. The Northern Michigan Black Bears will provide the competition in a 7:30 p.m. start at the Rhodes.

GAME PHOTOS WILL BE ADDED.