Thunderbirds remain unbeaten

It was their second meeting in seven days, but the second meeting would be a lot closer than the initial contest.

A goal by Kaidan McDonald 24 seconds into the third period was the eventual game-winner as the Soo Thunderbirds picked up a 4-3 Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League victory over the Elliot Lake Wildcats on Sunday night at the John Rhodes Community Centre.

Tyler Malpass paced the Thunderbirds offensively with two goals and an assist. Nolan Ford added a goal and an assist for the locals.

Thunderbirds goaltender Colin Ahern made 22 saves.

Connor Taylor had two goals and an assist for Elliot Lake. Carson Andreoli also scored.

Wildcats goaltender Justin Vertesi made 29 saves.

Both teams saw plenty of time on the man advantage in the contest. The Thunderbirds finished the night 1-for-9 on the power play while Elliot Lake scored twice on eight.

The previous meeting between the two clubs, on Sept. 16 at the John Rhodes, saw the Thunderbirds skate away with a 6-1 victory.

The win improves the Thunderbirds record to 5-0-0-0 and the team is the lone unbeaten team in the NOJHL after the Powassan Voodoos dropped an overtime decision to the Hearst Lumberjacks on Saturday night.

The Thunderbirds return to action on Sept. 28 at home against the Rayside Balfour Canadians. Puck drop at the John Rhodes Community Centre is set for 7 p.m.

The following night, the Thunderbirds take on the Soo (Mich.) Eagles in a 7:30 p.m. start at Pullar Stadium in Sault, Mich.

In other NOJHL action on Sunday, Caleb Wood and Owen Shierhad a goal and an assist each as the Soo Eagles beat the Blind River Beavers 3-0 in Blind River.

In Timmins, Tomas Yachmenev scored at 4:22 of overtime to lift Powassan to a 4-3 win over the Timmins Rock.