By Matt Stefano
Two power play goals was good enough for two points!
On Friday night, the Soo Thunderbirds got two power play goals from two different players as they went on to blank the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners by a score of 2-0 at the John Rhodes Community Centre in Sault Ste. Marie.
The Thunderbirds, who scored twice on seven power play opportunities, also went a perfect two-for-two on their penalty kill.
“Early in the game we had to kill some penalties, and I thought we did a really good job of that,” said Soo Thunderbirds head coach Cole Jarrett, whose team picked up their 14th straight victory on Friday night. “In terms of the power play, it wasn’t what we’re used to seeing in terms of the standard, but we got a couple power play goals from Capper’s (Dharan Cap) unit, which was great to see.”
On Friday night, Thunderbirds forward Dharan Cap led the way offensively with a power play goal and an assist, giving him 10 goals and 11 assists in 24 games played.
Cap, who led the way offensively with a power play goal and an assist on Friday night against Kirkland Lake, was also the overtime hero in the Thunderbirds 4-3 overtime victory over the Timmins Rock last Saturday in Timmins.
“It always feels good to contribute to a win,” Cap
said. “Tonight our power play was able to connect with guys being in the right spot at the right time.”
Cap’s power play goal came at the 16:30 mark of the third period, which at that time made the score 2-0 for the Soo.
“Capper has been one of our most consistent forwards,” Jarrett said. “He’s hard on the puck all the time. He’s in on every play and he’s always in the right position. It was nice to see Capper get rewarded, because he works so hard and he plays the right way every shift.”
Kenny Belanger Jr. had the other goal (power play) for the Thunderbirds on Friday night while Mason Chitaroni, Russell Oldham and Colby Arbour all chipped in with one assist each.
Gold Miners goaltender Keaton Lyons gave up 2 goals on 29 shots in the loss while Thunderbirds netminder Noah Metivier made 19 saves for his 4th shutout of the season.
Metiver, who recorded his 4th shutout of the season on Friday night, now leads all NOJHL goaltenders in shutouts this season.
“We’re really happy for Tives (Noah Metiver),” Jarrett said. “He was solid when he had to be. He made the saves that he needed to make and the team playing in front of him had a lot of confidence in that. It’s always important to know that your goaltenders are on their game and they need to be there for you when you need them to be.”
The Thunderbirds will now be back in action on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m., when they visit Blind River to take on the Blind River Beavers at the Blind River Community Centre.
(Photo of Thunderbirds defenceman Kyle Trottier credit to Bob Davies)
