By Matt Stefano
BMB got the job done in OT!
On Tuesday night, in his NOJHL debut with the Soo Thunderbirds, newly signed defenceman Brodie McConnell-Barker scored the overtime goal just 34 seconds into overtime, giving the Soo Thunderbirds a 3-2 overtime victory over the Timmins Rock at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex in Sudbury, in Day 1 of the 2022 NOJHL Showcase.
McConnell-Barker’s overtime goal, also turned out to be his first career NOJHL tally.
“The feeling was a relief and it’s been a crazy 24 hours for me,” said McConnell-Barker, who played in his first game with the Soo Thunderbirds on Tuesday after signing with them on back on Monday. “It also felt super good to finish this game in overtime.”
Not only did McConnell-Barker score the overtime winner on Tuesday night, but the London, Ontario native also became the first player in Thunderbirds history to score an overtime goal at the NOJHL Showcase.
“It feels awesome to score a big goal like I did tonight, but tonight was also a full-team effort and it was a great way for us to win this game,” McConnell-Barker said.
On Tuesday night, the Thunderbirds also saw an impressive debut from newly signed goaltender Landon Miller, as he made 33 saves in net for his first career NOJHL win.
“I thought Miller and McConnell-Barker were exceptional considering it was their first game in this league (NOJHL), and they both played a huge role in getting us the two points tonight,” said Soo Thunderbirds head coach Cole Jarrett. “Miller had a couple huge saves late in the game and then McConnell-Barker had a great individual effort in overtime.”
The Thunderbirds took a 2-0 lead after the first period of play, thanks to goals by forwards Youssef Chaouachi and Anton Petrovskiy.
Chaouachi, who entered Tuesday night’s game with 7 points in 7 games, opened the scoring with his second goal of the season at 11:27 from Dharan Cap, which put the Soo up 1-0.
Just 6:08 later, it would then be forward Anton Petrovskiy getting his second goal of the season, unassisted, putting the Soo up by two.
The Thunderbirds, who led the Rock 2-0 after the first period, also outshot the Rock 9-4 in that opening frame.
With the Thunderbirds down a man early in the second period, it would then be the Rock getting on the board on the power play just two and a half minutes in, courtesy of Nicholas Frederick’s 8th goal of the season from Kenyon Nyman, which cut the Thunderbirds lead to 2-1.
Frederick, who scored his 8th goal of the season on the power play, also extended his point-scoring streak to nine games.
With the game still 2-1 for the Thunderbirds early in the third period, the Rock would then get another power play goal at the 1:35 mark of the third, courtesy of Brady Harroun’s 8th goal of the season from Nicholas Frederick, which tied things up at two.
During Tuesday night’s game, the Thunderbirds went 0-for-7 on the power play while going 7-for-9 on their penalty kill.
Timmins goaltender Jacob Brown was named first star of the game on Tuesday night, as he made 24 saves in the loss.
The Thunderbirds will now be right back in action on Wednesday afternoon at 1:00 p.m., as they will take on the Hearst Lumberjacks in Day 2 of the NOJHL Showcase at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex in Sudbury.
(Photo credit to Sudbury Light Event Photography)
