SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – A pair of first period markers held up as the Soo Thunderbirds went on to edge the Powassan Voodoos 2-1 in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League get together Saturday at John Rhodes Community Centre.
Capitalizing on the night’s first power play, James Legler gave the Thunderbirds the lead near the four-minute mark of the opening frame when he whipped in a cross-ice feed from Aiden Atkinson that flew past Voodoos’ netminder Cole Vreugdenhil.
More from Sault Ste. Marie at 12:55 produced a nice dash up the right wing, with pace, from Gavin Killoran that saw him dart in and snap and well-placed shot over the blocker of Vreugdenhil for his 19th of the campaign.
Heading to the middle session, Powassan pushed the pace, holding a large edge in shots on goal, but they could not solve T-Birds’ goalkeeper Nathan Maguire.
The Voodoos eventually dashed Maguire’s bid for a second-straight shutout with 5:46 remaining in regulation after a Soo defender lost an edge and fell while trying to clear the zone that allowed Heath Bradley to finish off a brief two-on-one with Ryan Saginaw.
That ended a run of over 118 minutes without allowing a goal for Maguire.
Holding firm from there though, the Thunderbirds shut the door defensively to skate away with the narrow home-ice victory.
With the result, the T-Birds raise their record to 27-14-2-2 and in the slim setback, Powassan drops to 29-12-1-2.
