SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – A three-goal first period supplied the Soo Thunderbirds all they would need before eventually settling for a 4-2 victory over the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League action Saturday at Essar Centre.
The triumph by Sault Ste. Marie also put an end to Kirkland Lake’s season-high nine-game winning streak.
It was all Thunderbirds in the opening frame starting with a Jaren Bellini effort at 6:40.
Midway through the first the home team went up by a pair on Nathan Hebert’s power play tally.
The T-Birds then made it 3-0 at the 13-minute mark when Darian Pilon finished off the work of Aiden Salerno and Brett Jeffries.
The Soo then chased Kirkland Lake starter Victor-Olivier Courchesne 100 seconds into the middle stanza courtesy of Matthew Caruso.
Tyler Mazzocato came in the rest of the way for the Gold Miners and the move sparked the visitors as they tallied twice in a nine-second span on a pair of quick markers from Logan Fredericks to make it 4-2 with still 16:48 to play in the second.
However the two sides tightened up defensively from there and there would be no more scoring the rest of the night.
Jeffries had a pair of assists to help the Thunderbirds cause.
Connor Ryckman made 14 saves to pick-up the win for the Soo.
Courchesne suffered the loss allowing the four against on 19 attempts.
Mazzocato meanwhile stopped all 18 shots he faced in a long relief stint for the Gold Miners.
