Thunderbirds hammer Abitibi

The Soo Thunderbirds flexed their muscles on Friday night and routed the Abitibi Eskimos at the John Rhodes Community Centre.

Led by the play of linemates Ryan Maunu, Chris Towell and Mike McMillan along with the stellar goaltending of Travis O'Brien, the Thunderbirds cruised to an 8-0 Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League win.

"I was really happy that Trav got the shutout," said Thunderbirds head coach Toots Kovacs. "He had to make some big saves and he earned this shutout. This was no gimme.

"The line of Towell, Maunu and McMillan also played really well. Maunu and McMillan are magicians with the puck. Chris has good hands for a big guy but he creates a lot of room for those guys down low."

McMillan scored three times, Maunu scored twice and Towell recorded two assists. Grant McGee, Tyler Gendron and Tyler Lannigan scored singles.

Kovacs felt the turning point for his club came late in the opening period while killing a penalty when forward Drew Jarrett sacrificed himself to block a shot.

"There was about 45 seconds left in the first period, we're killing a penalty and I had Drew Jarrett out there and he threw himself in front of a shot and knocked the puck out to centre ice. Two things stuck out there. There was less than a minute to go and we didn't give up a goal. It really got our bench going, I was clapping and it really set the tome for the rest of the game."

The Thunderbirds will now hit the road for a Saturday night affair in Blind River against the Beavers beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Blind River Memorial Community Centre.

The game will mark the third of 10 regular season meetings between the two teams as they battle for the Carmen Provenzano Memorial Cup. The Thunderbirds won the first two contests by scores of 9-4 and 7-5.

"It's always exciting when we play Blind River. They have dropped a couple in a row so we know they will be coming into this one hungry. We're just looking forward to heading down Highway 17 tomorrow afternoon," said Kovacs.

The game is one of only two road games the Thunderbirds will play before the Christmas break.

"(General manager) Al Jones made our schedule and he did a wonderful job in the fact that we got a couple of our long road trips done early in the season," said Kovacs. "It helps build character by playing on the road and it helps with the bonding process. That was real important. On those road trips, we are on the bus for about 22 hours and it is a lot of fun."

(All photos courtesy of Jim Egan)