NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
NOJHL COMMUNICATIONS
MEDIA UPDATE
Release Date: Sunday, March 9, 2014
Thunderbirds drop Bobcats 6-4 to conclude regular season
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – The Soo Thunderbirds got three assists apiece from Anthony Miller and Anthony Butorac to help lead them to a 6-4 victory over the Elliot Lake Bobcats Sunday in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League’s regular season finale staged at Essar Centre.
Sault Ste. Marie stormed out to a 3-0 by the eight-minute mark of the contest getting tallies from Gavin Burbach, Nathan Hebert and Eric Hillock.
Elliot Lake managed to get one back before the opening frame was complete as Jared Walker beat Briant Kment in the Soo net at 11:28.
The home side extended their cushion to 4-1 less than a minute into the middle session, which spelled the end of Elliot Lake’s Matt Young’s afternoon in favour of Tristan Hanna, in what was the only goal of the period.
A high-scoring third Jaren Bellini of the Thunderbirds along with Mike Gambino and Brad Holman of the Bobcats connecting within the first minute and half of the stanza while David Radke of the Soo and Elliot Lake’s Aaron Carmichael rounding out the scoring late.
Kment finished with 29 stops to record the win for the Thunderbirds.
Young allowed four against on 21 attempts for the Bobcats while Hanna suffered the setback in relief giving up a pair on 20 shots.
With the regular season now complete each of the eight member clubs in the NOJHL will turn their attention to the playoffs.
No. 1 Soo will meet No. 8 Blind River, No. 2 Kirkland Lake takes on No. 7 North Bay, No. 3 Espanola tangles with No. 6 Sudbury while No. 4 Abitibi goes up against No. 5 Elliot Lake in four best-of-seven series that get underway later in the week.
