Cicchello shoots, scores!
It can be such a simple philosophy. That is, shoot the puck at the net and there is always a chance of scoring a goal.
It worked for Soo Thunderbirds defenseman Tristano Cicchello in the opening game of their playoff match with the visiting Soo Eagles on Saturday night.
Cicchello, a rookie defender with a 2001 birth date, directed a shot from the point through a maze of players to beat Eagles goalie Carter McPhail just past the 11 minute mark of overtime to lift the Thunderbirds to a spine-tingling, 4-3 victory.
The smooth-skating, defensively-sound Cicchello had scored four goals in 54 regular-season games for the Thunderbirds, who finished in second place in the West Division of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, just ahead of the third-seeded Eagles.
The OT tally capped a see-saw match which had the Thunderbirds take leads of 1-0 and 2-1 before the Eagles went ahead by a 3-2 margin only to have the home side tie it.
Spencer Van Tiem, Nolan Ford and Kaidan McDonald had scored earlier goals for the Thunderbirds while William Casey, Nick Nechel and Brendan Blair replied for the Eagles.
The Eagles missed two glorious opportunities to take back the lead with less than five minutes remaining in the third period. They had back-to-back power plays but could not put a puck past Thunderbirds goalie Brandon Gordon.
Then, before Cicchello scored in OT, Thunderbirds leading scorer Nick Smith could not convert on a penalty shot that would have ended the contest.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven set is slated for Monday night at 7:30 p.m., again at John Rhodes Community Centre.
The series will then shift to Pullar Stadium in the Michigan Soo for games on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Friday at 7:30 p.m.
PHOTO: The overtime winning goal sails past Soo Eagles goalie Carter McPhail.
Good job TBirds, keep up the good work.