Thunderbirds shutout at the Steelback

The Soo Thunderbirds dropped their first appearance at the Steelback Centre on Saturday night.

In the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League contest, the North Bay Skyhawks scored a goal in each period and shut down the Thunderbirds offense in a 3-0 victory.

Chris Van Lauren, Justin Roy and Brad Norkum scored for North Bay while Jeff Shaffer stopped 21 shots for the shutout. Ryan Dube took the loss in goal for the Soo.

With the loss, the Thunderbirds fall to 13-11-0-1 for 27 points and sit in a tie for fifth place in the seven-team loop with the Skyhawks. The locals though, have played the fewest games in the league thus far.

The Thunderbirds are back in action on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the John Rhodes Community Centre against the Michigan Soo Indians in another battle for the Carmen Provenzano Memorial Cup.

*** GAME SUMMARY:

First Period

1. NB: Chris Van Laren (Josh Diamond, Nathan Hewitt) 10:05 FG GW PP

Penalties: Kyle Heroux NB (TR) 2 min 00:46; Brad Dicandia SOO (HKG) 2 min 03:43; Kyle Heroux NB (INT) 2 min 05:55; Ben Davey SOO (INT) 2 min 08:24; Reilly Miller NB (TR) 2 min 13:40; Ben Davey SOO (HKG) 2 min 16:19; Chris Van Laren NB (RAW) 2 min 16:19;

Second Period

2. NB: Justin Roy (Scott Faulkner, ) 11:25 SH

Penalties: Brad Norkum NB (RAW) 2 min 02:28; Randy Wills SOO (RAW) 2 min 02:28; Adam Kauppi SOO (BDG) 2 min 04:52; Brad Hummel NB (RAW) 2 min 05:34; Shawn Bibeau SOO (RAW) 2 min 05:34; Matt Conway SOO (HS) 2 min 05:41; Justin Piquette NB (RO) 2 min 05:41; Kody Carnevale NB (TR) 2 min 10:31;

Third Period

3. NB: Brad Norkum (Nick Kulas, ) 18:31

Penalties: Brad Norkum NB (RO) 2 min 01:00; Rob Johnson SOO (RAW) 2 min 12:41; Reilly Miller NB (FI) 5 min 19:56; Rob Johnson SOO (FI) 5 min 19:56;

Shots on Goal North Bay - 13 Soo Thunderbirds - 21 Game Stars

1. Jeff Shaffer (NB) 2. Brad Norkum (NB) 3. Kyle Rodgers (SOO) Game Attendance 342 ***