By Matt Stefano
Petro got the job done in OT!
On Sunday afternoon, Soo Thunderbirds forward Anton Petrovskiy scored the overtime goal with just 1:37 left to go in overtime, giving the Soo Thunderbirds a 4-3 overtime victory against the Blind River Beavers at the John Rhodes Community Centre in Sault Ste. Marie.
The T-Birds, who defeated the Beavers 4-3 in overtime on Sunday afternoon, also battled back from a 3-1 deficit.
“It felt unreal,” said T-Birds forward Anton Petrovskiy, who scored his first career overtime goal. “All that was just a collective effort from the boys. Everyone was grinding all game long. We battled back. We were down in the game a few times but we still made it, and in the end that’s what counts.”
On Sunday afternoon, the T-Birds also got another multi-point game from forward Justin Mauro, as he finished the game with a goal and an assist, good for his fourth straight multi-point game.
Mauro also became the first T-Bird player to have four straight multi-point games during a regular season since Nick Smith did back in 2019-2020.
“It feels good to get my fourth straight multi-point game,” Mauro said. “Smitty (Nick Smith) was a great player for the T-Birds and I remember playing against him during my first two seasons with the Blind River Beavers. Nick (Smith) was very skilled and next time I see him I’ll have to let him know.”
Mauro’s goal, came at the 7:13 mark of the third period, which at that time tied the game up at three.
The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario product also drew an assist on Wyatt Marlow’s goal at the 8:10 mark of the second period, which at that time tied the game up at one.
“I said earlier today that I knew the Beavers were going to bring their A-game,” Mauro said. “The score in the first two periods didn’t reflect on how we were playing. I thought we brought it to them a lot and we just had to get more pucks on net and bear down on our chances. There’s definitely room for improvement, but today we did a good job of bouncing back.”
Wyatt Marlow, who tied the game at one at the 8:10 mark of the second period, finished the afternoon with a goal and an assist.
T-Birds captain Brock Santa Maria also had a multi-point game of his own on Sunday afternoon as he finished the afternoon with two helpers.
Youssef Chaouachi also got on the scoresheet for the T-Birds with one goal while Daniel Beaupre and Brodie McConnell-Barker set up a goal each.
Ethan Pegg (power play), Evan Fraccaro (shorthanded) and Gavin Roacha had the goals for the Beavers while Matthew Green and Jack Robinson each had one assist.
Fraccaro, who scored a shorthanded goal on Sunday afternoon, gave himself his team-leading second shorthanded tally of the season.
Fraccaro also became the first Beaver player to score two shorthanded goals in a season since Sam Harris did back in 2018-2019.
Beavers goaltender Charlie Burns gave up 4 goals on 33 shots in the loss while T-Birds netminder Kolton Bourret made 29 saves for the victory.
With the win, the T-Birds have now given themselves their 18th win of the season, including their 4th win in overtime.
The T-Birds, who picked up their 4th overtime win of the season on Sunday afternoon, now have the most overtime wins out of any NOJHL team this season.
“Sometimes you just need to pray to the hockey gods and they just help us,” Petrovskiy said. “Sometimes you need a little bit of luck, but that only comes with preparation and hard work in practice.”
Next action for the T-Birds will be on Friday night at 7:30 p.m., when they visit Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to take on the Soo Eagles at the Pullar Stadium.
(Photo credit to Matt Stefano)