Skyhawks fall to T-Birds for second weekend in a row

Skyhawks goalie Andre Laperriere makes a stop. Photo by Lucas Punkari.

Story by Lucas Punkari

For the second weekend in a row the North Bay Skyhawks came out on the losing end in the battle for place in the NOJHL standings, as they dropped a 4-2 decision to the Soo Thunderbirds on Friday night at Memorial Gardens.

“We got carried away with our emotions, and we paid for it,” Skyhawks head coach Ian Swalucysnki said following the game, which saw the Skyhawks have to deal with two five-minute major penalties, with the second resulting in three Thunderbird goals.

“We gave them a lot of opportunities to score and they finally did. We killed off the first five minute major, and started to roll again. But the guys got selfish, let stuff that we can’t control bother them and it was downhill from there.”

“Our first twenty minutes were very sluggish,” Thunderbirds coach Pat Carricato said following the win.

“So after the period I told the guys ‘Okay I’ll give you that period, will blame that on the bus legs and the meal, but the next 40 we’ve got to start working,’ and they responded. We’ll enjoy this one for a couple of hours and then look towards a big one tomorrow in Abitibi.”

Thunderbirds forward Brett Perlini continued his recent dominance over the Skyhawks, as he tailed three goals and an assist in the victory.

Ben Davey had the other goal for the Soo, while Scott Britton and Chad Jones each scored for North Bay.

“We controlled him in the first and then guys that don’t kill penalties had to kill penalties because there was no one else there,” Swalucynski said in regards to Perlini’s performance, which marked his third hat trick against North Bay.

“The guys didn’t listen to the instructions we gave them and as a result he was wide open in the slot almost every time.”

For the T-Birds, playing in front of a crowd almost 10 times larger than they are used to playing in front of at home is always a motivating factor.

“There’s just something about this rink,” Perlini said following his four-point outing, giving him 10 points in five games since returning to the Thunderbirds two weeks ago.

“I think the crowd has a lot to do with it and there’s a really great atmosphere here. North Bay’s, a top team and well coached, so there’s a lot of motivation when we come to town and face them.”

The Skyhawks will be looking to get back on track this Sunday night when they host the Sudbury Junior Wolves at 7:00 p.m.