By Matt Stefano
Heading into Wednesday night action, the Soo Thunderbirds were looking to extend their winning streak to four games as they took on the visiting Blind River Beavers at the Essar Centre. The Beavers, meanwhile, were coming off back to back overtime losses to the Soo Eagles (3-2 OT) on Saturday, followed by a 4-3 overtime loss to the No. 8 ranked team in the nation, the Powassan Voodoos on Sunday.
Matt Caruso had two goals and an assist for the T-Birds while his older brother Mike also had a three point night with a trio of helpers as the T-Birds edged the Beavers 5-3 on Essar Centre ice.
“I thought we had a slow start,” said T-Birds forward Matt Caruso. “We had a better second, but we need to get better at finishing these games.”
Defenseman Caleb Boman (power play) and forward Mark Tassone (power play) had a goal and an assist each for the T-Birds while Matt Mitchell got the board with one goal. Joey Miller and Nathan Hebert each chipped in with one assist.
“We knew we lost the last game to Blind River,” concluded Caruso. “But we knew they were going to come out firing, we knew they had a lot of energy, but we knew we had to fight back and get this win.”
Ted Davis, Matt Murray (power play) and Max Khull (short handed) all chipped in with a goal each while single assists went to Tyler Somers, Jason Uhl and Alex Kidd.
Brandon Gordon made 13 stops for the T-Birds while Beavers goalie Matt Blattenberger gave up 5 goals on 54 shots.
Next game for the T-Birds is Friday, December 18th at 7:30 p.m. versus the Iroquois Falls Eskis from the Essar Centre.
