Trio of NOJHL games in Soo
Three exhibition games involving three teams from the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League are slated for this weekend at John Rhodes Community Centre in Sault Ste. Marie.
Two games are scheduled for Saturday and another for Sunday.
On Saturday, the Soo Eagles face off against the Elliot Lake Wildcats at 1 p.m. Then at 8 p.m., Elliot Lake is in action again as it takes on the host Soo Thunderbirds.
The round-robin weekend winds up on Sunday night at 7 p.m. when the Thunderbirds and Eagles meet in the first tilt of the year between the cross-border foes.
Elliot Lake, which lost to the eventual champion Thunderbirds in the second round of last spring’s playoffs, has the makings of another strong team led by the likes of high-scoring forwards Spencer MacLean, Shane Woolsey, Alec MacKenzie and Liam Blais and free-wheeling defenceman Nathan Campbell.
The Eagles, who are returning to the NOJHL after three seasons in the North American Hockey League, feature several skaters who played with the Batchewana Attack of the now-defunct Canadian International Hockey League in 2014-2015 including 20-goal scorer Jake Palmerio, who is a Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. product.
Another Eagle of note is hulking forward Jake Hernandez, who spent the 2014-2015 season with the Detroit Fighting Irish of the Midwest Jr. Hockey League before joining the NAHL Eagles late in the campaign.
The reigning champion Thunderbirds are prepping for a defence of their crown with a plethora of returning veterans that include forwards Jaren Bellini, Matt Pinder and Matt Caruso and defenceman Brandon Grandinetti.
New to the Thunderbirds is prize rookie Mark Tassone, a 1999 birth-year forward who starred at the minor-midget level in the Soo last season.
The Thunderbirds are looking for a no. 1 goalie with last season’s starter Mario Culina having just signed with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League.
The NOJHL regular season begins on Friday, September 11.
Game # 1 this afternoon: Elliot Lake 3, Soo Eagles 2. Quite a few Elliot Lake fans in attendance, adorned in their Wildcats jerseys.
Game #2: Soo Thunderbirds 2, Elliot Lake 1.
Game #3: Thunderbirds 2, Eagles 1