They gave up a goal in the opening minute of play, but the Soo Thunderbirds rebounded from the early deficit to extend its winning streak to four consecutive games.
Youssef Chaouachi had the shootout winner as the Thunderbirds beat the Blind River Beavers 2-1 on Wednesday night in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League action at the John Rhodes Community Centre.
After goals by Blind River’s Evan Fraccaro and Brodie McConnell Barker of the Thunderbirds left the shootout tied through three rounds, Chaouachi went to the backhand on Beavers goaltender Charlie Burns to give the Thunderbirds the lead.
Needing a goal to send the shootout to a sixth round, Blind River’s Noah Aboflan lost control of the puck in the slot, giving the Thunderbirds the victory.
Blind River opened the scoring 31 seconds into the contest as Nicholas Brady beat Thunderbirds starter Landon Miller with a shot from the left point through traffic.
Ethan Novello tied the game at one for the Thunderbirds when he circled the Blind River goal, skated into the left circle and beat Burns short side at 2:56, ultimately capping off the scoring in regulation time.
Miller made 31 saves for the Thunderbirds before stopping four of Blind River’s five shooters in the shootout.
At the other end, Burns made 43 saves and stopped three of the Thunderbirds five shooters.
With the win, the Thunderbirds improve to 8-6-0-1 and now site tied for second in the NOJHL’s West Division with the Espanola Paper Kings.
Blind River, winless in their last four games, falls to 10-3-0-2. The single point pulls the team into a tie with the Greater Sudbury Cubs for top spot in the West Division.
The game continued a busy stretch for the Thunderbirds that has the team playing five games in 11 days.
The stretch began with a 4-1 victory over Blind River at the Blind River Community Centre on Oct. 11. Ethan Novello and Dharan Cap had a goal and an assist each in the win while Miller made 30 saves.
On Friday night, the Thunderbirds skated to a 4-2 win at home against the Timmins Rock. Jackson Truchan had a pair of goals while Michael Chaffay had a goal and two assists. Kolton Bourret stopped 30 shots.
The Thunderbirds then picked up a 4-3 overtime win at home against Hearst the following night. Wyatt Marlow had a pair of goals, including the overtime winner, for the Thunderbirds. Truchan also had a pair of goals for the home side. McConnell-Marker assisted on three goals while Cap and Chaffay had a pair of helpers each. Miller stopped 32 shots.
The stretch wraps up on Friday when the Thunderbirds host the Soo (Mich.) Eagles in a 7 p.m. start at the John Rhodes Community Centre.