Skyhawks rebound on the road

Story by Lucas Punkari




The North Bay Skyhawks rebounded from a home ice loss last Sunday with a road victory on Friday night, as they defeated the Manitoulin Islanders by a score of 4-1.

"We played good right off the bat," Coach Ian Swalucynski said following the victory.

"We had a bit of a lapse near the halfway point, but we were able to address that and got back to the way we played at the start."

Kody Carnevale, Tyler Hummel, Jordan Carroll and Scott Britton each scored for the Skyhawks in the victory. However, Swalucynski pointed to goaltender Andre Laperriere's performance as a turning point in the contest.

"We were up 3-1 with Mantoulin pressuring," Swalucynski explained. "They we're able to get a breakaway on us, but Andre came up with a big poke-check to prevent the goal. That gave the guys a huge lift on the bench, and we took off and ran with it."

The Skyhawks continue their two game road trip with a battle for first-place on Saturday night, when they face off against the Soo Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds came out on top in their last meeting on January 3rd by a score of 4-2 in the Soo.

"We have to do the same things that worked for us here tonight," Swalucysnki said in regards to Saturday night's tilt. "We had different guys getting on the score sheet, and that helps a lot when you know you can count on everybody in the lineup to contribute."

North Bay's next home game will be on Sunday at Memorial Gardens when they face the Blind River Beavers at 7 pm.