Eagles perched on the edge
Soo Eagles managed to hold the Soo Thunderbirds to a single goal on Wednesday but the end result was a third straight playoff loss for the Michiganders.
A first-period goal by forward Matt Caruso stood up as the visiting Thunderbirds defeated the Eagles 1-0 to take a three games to none lead in the best-of-seven, Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League West Division semi-final series.
Game 4 in the set is slated for Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Pullar Stadium in the Michigan Soo and the Eagles will need a win to extend the series with the regular-season champion Thunderbirds.
In winning on Wednesday, the Thunderbirds once again out-shot the Eagles by a wide margin with a 43-23 advantage. Through three games in the series, the Thunderbirds have out-shot the Eagles 135-56.
The Thunderbirds took the first two games of the series at home by 9-3 and 6-0 scores.
In Wednesday’s Game 3, which was played in front of about 650 fans at the Pullar, Connor Ryckman made 23 saves to record his second straight shutout for the Thunderbirds while Jack Deines stopped 42 shots for the Eagles.
Including regular-season games, the defending champion Thunderbirds have now taken 13 of 15 contests from the Eagles, who are a first-year NOJHL team.
This was never going to be a tight series. T Birds are too strong, too good, and have depth. I think the Eagles tossed the nest at the TBirds last game and played well despite losing narrowly 1-0. They (Eagles) will come back stronger next year in year 2 in the NOJHL.