Thunderbirds facing elimination in NOJHL final

The Soo Thunderbirds are facing a must-win scenario.

After dropping the opening two games of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League final to the Hearst Lumberjacks at home, the Thunderbirds fell 5-4 in overtime at Claude Larose Arena in Hearst on Thursday night.

The team now trails the best-of-7 league final 3-0 heading into game four on Friday night, also in Hearst.

After the Thunderbirds scored a pair of goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation time to force the extra frame, Maxandre Pelletier potted a rebound pas Noah Metivier at 16:24 of the first overtime period to give the Lumberjacks the win.

The puck ended up on Pelletier’s stick after Metivier initially stopped a shot by Jaden Raad from the high slot that was partially blocked on its way to the goal.

The goal ended a game that saw the Thunderbirds claw back after falling behind 3-0 through 20 minutes and trailing 4-2 with 10 minutes to go in regulation time.

In the third period, Kelsey Ouellet pulled the Thunderbirds to within one when he batted in a puck from in close on a play the Lumberjacks thought was a high stick with 9:50 to go in the period.

The goal came after Cooper Foster was stopped initially by Hearst goaltender Liam Oxner.

Foster tied the game with 1:35 to go in regulation time when he beat Oxner with a shot from the slot through traffic glove side.

Michael Chaffay had a pair of goals for the Thunderbirds, getting the visitors on the board 1:28 into the second period on the power play when he took a cross-ice pass in the left circle from Brock Santa Maria and beat Oxner diving over trying to make the save.

He then picked up his second of the night at 10:12 of the middle frame when he took a pass in the slot from Foster and beat Oxner with a one-timer.

Mathieu Comeau made it 4-2 late in the second period when he beat Metivier with a one-timer in the slot on a feed from Ryan Glazer on a 2-on-1 with 4:15 to go in the second period. It was Comeau’s third goal of the night after he scored a pair of goals in the opening period.

Comeau opened the scoring when he potted a loose puck during a scramble in the slot just over six minutes into the game and scored his second of the night when Mason Bazaluk had a shot partially blocked from the slot and Comeau jumped on the rebound in the left circle at 11:55.

Tyler Patterson made it 3-0 Lumberjacks just 42 seconds later when he cut into the slot from the right circle and beat Metivier 5-hole.

Chaffay had a three-point night for the Thunderbirds with two goals and an assist while Foster also had three points with a goal and two helpers. Santa Maria also had a pair of assists.

Metivier stopped 31 shots in the low.

Offensively for the Lumberjacks, in addition to the three-goal night for Comeau, Glazer had a pair of assists.

Oxner made 37 saves.

Game four is set for 7 p.m. on Friday night in Hearst with game five, if necessary, scheduled for Sunday night in the Sault.