Birds win on the Rhodes
Whether it’s playing in front of 4,800 empty seats at the Essar Centre or about 100-plus followers at cozy John Rhodes Community Centre, the wins keep adding up for the Soo Thunderbirds.
The two-time reigning champions continued their Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League winning ways on Wednesday with a 5-1 verdict over the visiting Espanola Express in front of a crowd of about 100 fans in the Rhodes rink and another few dozen in the sports bar upstairs.
Having clinched first place in the West Division of the NOJHL, the Thunderbirds are 9-0-1 in their last 10 outings and now have 78 points from a record of 38-11-2.
Basically, regardless of what arena they are skating in, the Thunderbirds rarely miss a beat under the direction of coach-general manager Jordan Smith and his host of assistants.
On the flip side, the mid-week loss for Espanola was its seventh straight and the Express record dropped to 9-42-1.
Espanola will miss the playoffs for a second straight season but Express coach Jason Rapcewicz has retained his upbeat demeanour.
While the Express has had a rough go of it with injuries and the lopsided win-loss record, Rapcewicz did not hesitate when I asked him if there will be an NOJHL team in Espanola next season.
“Absolutely,” he replied.
Rapcewicz has an ownership stake in the Express.
Meanwhile, the Thunderbirds have another home game at the Rhodes Centre when they play host to the Elliot Lake Wildcats on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Why bother playing at the Essar when the average attendance is less than 100 fans?
For myself personally i dont think it means any difference if there is 100 or 1000 people there .the essar is more comforable for us old timers to watch and some people get their walk in durning periods around the top. But if it makes a difference for the thunderbirds playing better at the rhodes so be it play there.. what ever helps.