T-Bird midgets add to schedule
The reigning Great North Midget Hockey League champion Soo Thunderbirds have super-sized their 28-game, regular-season schedule with a busy non-conference slate for the 2015-2016 campaign.
The Thunderbirds will begin their non-league schedule on September 18 when they will co-host the HockeyNewsNorth.com/Lake Superior State University Lakers Cup with the Soo Indians midgets at Taffy Abel Arena.
The four-team showcase will also feature West Michigan Elite and Lake Forest Academy from the Chicago area.
“The showcase will allow our players to see exactly how a Division 1 (National Collegiate Athletic Association) program operates and what it takes to get there,” said Thunderbirds coach Jim Capy.
“(Lakers coach) Damon Whitten and his staff have taken a much more active role in recruiting and identifying area prospects which makes it a tremendous opportunity for our players,” Capy added.
October will be highlighted by the Compuware/Honeybaked tournament in Detroit.The Thunderbirds are defending Silver Division champions. The tournament features some of the top major midget teams in North America, according to Capy.
Also in October, the Thunderbirds will play a three-game showcase series against aforementioned Lake Forest Academy in Chicago.
Lake Forest is coached by former LSSU Laker and National Hockey League goalie Darrin Madeley. The prep school is considered one of the best in North America.
Early November will bring the Thunderbird midgets to the Big Nickel Tournament in Sudbury and in mid December, the Soo squad will be in Waterloo for the Gold Puck Tournament.
“Our tournament line-up all have four-game guarantees and are extremely well-scouted,” said Capy.
Also included in the Thunderbirds non-conference schedule are four games against the cross-river Soo Indians and a matchup with the highly-rated Michigan Nationals.
“This competitive schedule along with the ability to practice and play games with our Jr. A affiliate (Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League) will give us one of the most-complete AAA midget programs in the province,” opined Capy.
Tryouts for Thunderbird midgets team are scheduled for August 28-30. For more details on time and registration, visit www.saultmajorhockey.ca.