T-Birds take it to Eagles
Soo Thunderbirds made it look quick and easy with a resounding 9-3 win over the visiting Soo Eagles in the opener of their Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League playoff set on Saturday night.
The regular-season champion Thunderbirds scored three goals in just over four minutes to begin the best-of-seven, West Division series and were never really threatened by the Eagles, who had difficulty getting out of their own end of the rink whenever pressured.
By the 10-minute mark of the first period, the Thunderbirds were out-shooting the Eagles by a 15-1 margin and were in full control of the contest that was played before an Essar Centre crowd of more than 450.
Matt Caruso led the T-Bird scoring attack with three goals while the hard-toiling Joey Miller and Matt Pinder added a pair of tallies apiece. Brandon Grandinetti chipped in with three assists from his blueline post.
Reed Gregory had a pair of goals for the Eagles.
Game 2 in the series is slated for Monday at 7:30 p.m. at the Essar Centre.
The series will then shift to the Michigan Soo for Games 3 and 4 at Pullar Stadium.
It was at the Pullar that the Eagles were able to defeat the Thunderbirds twice during the regular season.
PHOTO: T-Birds forward Joey Miller celebrates a goal in Saturday’s 9-3 win. (Photo by Ali Pearson.)