Thunderbirds swarm Skyhawks to open series

Game report by SooToday.com sports reporter Brad Coccimiglio


Fans arrived at the John Rhodes Community Centre on Friday night expecting to see a tight battle between two quality hockey clubs. What they got was a quality performance for two periods before the Soo Thunderbirds took over.

The Thunderbirds opened up a 1-0 series lead over the North Bay Skyhawks in the best-of-seven Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League semi-final after a 7-3 victory in Sault Ste. Marie. The victory came thanks to a four-goal outburst in the third period by the Thunderbirds.

With the Thunderbirds and Skyhawks tied at three heading into the third period, Chris Towell scored a pair of goals while Adam Kauppi and Grant McGee also scored to break the game open. Towell's second marker and Kauppi's goal came just 20 seconds apart midway through the period.

The four-goal frame came after the two teams traded leads through the first two periods. The Skyhawks opened up a 2-0 lead with goals by Dustin McCrank and Ian Carlson in the first period before Towell scored in the final minute of the period.

The Thunderbirds managed to take the lead in the middle frame when Mike McMillan and Aaron Assinewai scored just under six minutes apart, giving the Thunderbirds a 3-2 lead. Frank Desbiens tied the game for the Skyhawks midway through the period, setting the stage for the Thunderbirds rally in the third period.

"I thought we had a strong second period," said Thunderbirds coach Toots Kovacs.

"We played hard down low, moved the puck well and played well defensively. We are happy to get the first win but we've got to keep it all in perspective. We are happy with the win and looking forward to going to North Bay on Sunday night," added Kovacs.

"Obviously we jumped out to that 2-0 lead and I thought we played well early," said Skyhawks coach Kevin Kerr. "We've played a lot of hockey in a lot of days lately. I think it took a toll as the periods went on here. In the third period we did not have a lot of jump or a lot of energy. We have got to learn from that and play a little bit smarter."

Kovacs added that he was pleased with the play of his top line of Mike McMillan, Ryan Maunu, and Chris Towell.

"They contribute so much to this hockey team," Kovacs said of the trio.

"They are getting better defensively which really pleases me. I really would like to see those guys have success in their last year of junior hockey. They are the backbone of our team."

Kerr pointed to the veteran group of players with hopes that the group will learn from their mistakes in game one and regroup for the rest of the series.

"One game does not make a series, but hopefully we can learn from our mistakes and be ready to go Sunday," said Kerr.

"We have a lot of games coming up in a lot of days and I think it is up to my older guys, my veteran guys, to lead the team. They've been through this. It's something that they are somewhat used to and they will rebound."

Game two is set for Sunday night in North Bay at the North Bay Memorial Gardens at 7 p.m. Game three will be Monday night in Sault Ste. Marie at the Rhodes. Game time in the Sault is also 7 p.m.