SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – The surging Soo Thunderbirds skated to their ninth Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League victory in a row Sunday afternoon after earning a 3-2 triumph over the visiting Kirkland Lake Gold Miners at Essar Centre.
Kirkland Lake got on the board first 11:49 into the contest as Marc-Antoine Arseneau notched his ninth goal of the season as he scored for a third straight game and fifth time in his past six outings.
Sault Ste. Marie responded with the equalizer two and half minutes later when Darian Pilon put in his sixth of the campaign during a Thunderbirds power play.
The home side then took a 2-1 cushion into the intermission as Izaak Del Mastro beat Gold Miners starter Victor-Olivier Courchesne with 1:45 left in the frame.
The Thunderbirds added to their lead eight minutes into the second when Joey Miller picked up his seventh marker in 2015-16.
Kirkland Lake got that back at 12:32 of the session as A.J. Rupert struck shorthanded in what turned out to be the final tally of the game.
Caleb Boman dished out two assists to aid the winner’s cause as he earned points for a fourth straight game.
Nathan Warren faced 15 shots for the T-Birds in securing the win helping his side improve to 14-1-0-0 overall while running their unbeaten streak to nine.
Courchesne faced 36 shots in defeat for Kirkland Lake as they saw their record slip to 10-4-1-0.
