Skyhawks take a bite out of the Beavers

Tip it! Blind River Beavers goalie Mike Wuthrich homes in on a Skyhawks shot in the third period. He stopped 29 of 35 Skyhawks shots he faced. Photo by Chris Dawson.

The North Bay Skyhawks rebounded from a disappointing 6-2 loss Saturday night to the Sault Ste. Marie Thunderbirds with a solid 6-2 victory of their own Sunday night against the visiting Blind River Beavers.

Cory Park scored twice for the Skyhawks with singles going to Nick Brunette, Dustin Fummerton, Kody Carnevale and AJ Shiverdecker.

Despite the fact that the Skyhawks were at the end of a grueling schedule - 7 games in 10 nights - Skyhawks head coach Darren Turcotte felt the team ramped up the intensity against the Beavers and played one of their best team efforts so far this year.

“For the most part we battled and we competed and we approached it as a must win game and we got the job done,” said Turcotte.

It was a special night for a pair of local players. Nick Brunette scored his first goal in the NOJHL. The gritty forward graduated from the West Ferris Trojans hockey program last year and he was glad to finally contribute on the score board.

“It’s the best feeling in my hockey career definitely,” said Brunette.

“I’ve been watching the Skyhawks since they started in North Bay as a young kid and there’s nothing like it, I’m just stoked to be playing in front of a crowd like North Bay’s.”

Skyhawks goaltender Andre Laperriere spent the past two seasons with the Blind River Beavers. The North Bay product was responsible for stealing a pair of victories for the Beavers at Memorial Gardens last year.

“It feels nice to beat them,” said Laperriere who stopped 26 shots on the night including 13 in the final frame.

“I don’t have any hard feelings against them but it’s still nice to come up with a win.”

Skyhawks head coach Darren Turcotte was pleased by the effort of Laperriere who came in relief of Ian Wilson halfway through Saturday’s game against the Thunderbirds.

“He made some great saves in the third period and I’m sure he’s pretty happy right now,” said Turcotte about Laperriere’s performance.
Tyler Dedecker scored both goals for the Beavers including a 5 on 3 powerplay marker midway through the third period. The Beavers finished 1 for 8 with the man advantage while the Skyhawks finished 0 for 4.

The Skyhawks now have a long break from action as their next game is next Sunday against the Sault Ste. Marie Thunderbirds at Memorial Gardens.