Thunderbirds suffer OT loss

The Soo Thunderbirds suffered a tough loss on Saturday night but will take the single point in the standings.

David Frawley's goal 2:01 into overtime lifted the North Bay Skyhawks to a 3-2 victory over the Thunderbirds in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League action at the John Rhodes Community Centre.

The Thunderbirds will salvage a point with the overtime loss.

Frawley capitalized with the game winner after a turnover at the Soo's blue line. Tyler Perry collected the loose puck and sent a pass into an uncovered Frawley who then beat goaltender Michael Maulucci for the win.

Matt Dias capped an uneventful first period with a goal with 10.7 seconds remaining as the Sudbury Wolves draft pick roofed a shot past goaltender Stuart Fricke for the 1-0 Thunderbirds lead.

North Bay rebounded in the second period with a pair of power play goals as Joey Imbeau and Evan Dube scored to give the Skyhawks a 2-1 lead.

Ryan Maunu tied the game just 35 seconds into the third period with his ninth goal of the season.

"In the first two periods I don't think we played very well," said Thunderbirds head coach Toots Kovacs. "We responded in the third and had a really good period to tie it up. One of our (defense) bobbled the puck and it led to the winning goal which is very unfortunate because I thought our D had a very good night and they deserved better than that."

Matt Caria recorded two assists for the locals while Maulucci had another solid outing between the pipe making several big stops early to keep his team in the game and late to force the overtime period.

"(Maulucci) made some big saves for us in the first and second periods when we weren't playing very well," said Kovacs. "Michael always gives us a chance to win a hockey game no matter how bad we play. He's a great competitor, upbeat and ready to go all the time."

The overtime loss moves the Thunderbirds record to 6-5-1-1 for 14 points and a share of third spot in the NOJHL's western division with Northern Michigan.

"We haven't played a full 60 minutes the last four games since our 2-2 tie in Abitibi. (Coaches) Dave (Watson), Pat (Carricato) and I can teach them certain things but something has to come from inside each and every player in that dressing room. It's something that we can't provide them but I hope they find it soon," said Kovacs.

The Thunderbirds are in Sudbury on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. to face the Northern Wolves before returning home next Sunday to face the Rayside Balfour Sabrecats at 2 p.m. at the Rhodes.

(All photos courtesy of Jim Egan)