Twin Soo NOJHL weekend set
Soo Thunderbirds and Soo Eagles will face off twice this weekend as the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League’s border battle resumes on two fronts.
Tonight, the Thunderbirds will play host to the Eagles in a 7 p.m. tilt at the Essar Centre.
The scene then shifts to the Michigan side on Saturday when the Eagles are home to the Thunderbirds in a 7 p.m. showdown at venerable Pullar Stadium.
The two teams have split a pair of home-victories against one another thus far this season.
Standings-wise, the reigning NOJHL champion Thunderbirds are perched atop the West Division with a record of 6-1-0.
The Eagles are at the bottom of the West with a 2-5-1 record that has co-coaches Bruno Bragagnolo and Jim Capy searching for answers. To the credit of the Eagles, they lost 6-3 to Espanola on Wednesday despite out-shooting the Express by a resounding 71-27 margin.
Second-year forward Mark Tassone leads the Thunderbirds in scoring with seven goals, five assists, 12 points. Third-year forward Matt Caruso is next on the Thunderbirds in scoring with three goals, seven assists, 10 points.
Rookie forward Will Casey leads the Eagles in scoring with four goals, four assists, eight points.
Another Eagles rookie, big defenseman Carmen Scarfone, has produced three assists in eight games from the back end. Scarfone is one of four Canadian Soo products on the Eagles — defensemen Nolan Makkonen and Nick Trecroce and forward Jake Palmerio are the others.
Does anyone know why the Eskis are using practice jerseys?