By Matt Stefano
One hundred and thirty three days ago, back on May the 12th, the Soo Thunderbirds were crowned 2022 NOJHL champions after defeating the Hearst Lumberjacks by a score of 3-2 in overtime in game 7 of the NOJHL final at the John Rhodes Community Centre in Sault Ste. Marie.
That night, the Thunderbirds also came all the way back to win that NOJHL final series in seven games after trailing the Lumberjacks 3-games-to-none.
And now, on Thursday, September 22, the same two teams came together again for their first meeting of the 2022-2023 season.
On Thursday night, in their first meeting since game 7 of the 2022 NOJHL final, the Hearst Lumberjacks defeated the Soo Thunderbirds by a score of 6-2 at Claude Larose Recreation Complex in Hearst, giving the Thunderbirds their third loss in just their 5th game of the season.
The Thunderbirds opened the scoring just 1:56 into the first period, as newly acquired forward Daniel Beaupre scored his 4th goal of the season and his first goal in a Soo Thunderbirds uniform from Youssef Chaouachi and Dharan Cap, which put the Thunderbirds ahead by an early 1-0 score.
Beaupre, who was acquired by the Thunderbirds in a trade from the Timmins Rock back on Monday, also gave himself his first goal as a Thunderbird in just his first game played as a Thunderbird.
At the 7:05 mark of the first period, it would then be Lumberjacks forward Riley Klugerman getting his 4th goal of the season on the power play, which tied things up at one heading into the second.
With the game tied at one just over a minute into the second period, it would then be Lumberjacks forward Zachary Demers getting his 3rd goal of the season from Riley Klugerman at 1:12, putting the Lumberjacks ahead by a score of 2-1.
Then, at the 16:57 mark of the second period, it would then be Lumberjacks forward Riley Klugerman getting his second of the night and 5th goal of the season from Zachary Demers, which put the Lumberjacks up by two.
Klugerman, who scored his second goal of the night, also gave himself his second straight multi-goal game.
Then, with just 36 seconds to go in the middle frame, it would then be Lumberjacks forward Mathieu Comeau getting his first goal of the season on the power play from Mason Svarich and Zachary Demers, giving the Lumberjacks a three-goal-lead heading into the third period.
With the Lumberjacks leading the Soo 4-1 almost two minutes into the third period, it would then be Lumberjacks forward Zachary Demers getting his second goal of the game and 5th goal of the season on the power play from Brayden Palfi at 1:55, making the score 5-1 for the homeside.
The Thunderbirds would then get back on the board just 5:14 later, as forward Dharan Cap would notch his 4th goal of the season on the power play from Kaden Dundas and newly signed forward Jackson Truchan, which cut the Lumberjacks lead to 5-2.
Truchan, who picked up an assist on Cap’s tally, also gave himself his first NOJHL point in just his first game played as a Soo Thunderbird.
Then, just 6:45 later after Cap’s goal, it would then be Lumberjacks forward Riley Klugerman getting his third goal of the game and his league-leading 6th goal of the season from Zachary Demers and Noah Janicki, making the score 6-2 for the Lumberjacks.
Klugerman, who scored his 3rd goal of the game, also gave himself his first career NOJHL hat trick.
Thunderbirds rookie netminder Kolton Bourret gave up 6 goals on 38 shots in the loss while Lumberjacks goaltender Ethan Dinsdale made 18 saves for the victory.
With the loss, the Thunderbirds record now falls to 2 wins and 3 losses on the season, but the Birds will be right back on the ice on Friday night at the exact same place (Claude Larose Recreation Centre) for a rematch against the Hearst Lumberjacks, beginning at 7:00 p.m.
The Lumberjacks, who picked up a win against the Thunderbirds on Thursday night, have now improved their record to 3 wins and 2 losses on their season.
ZACK ATTACK
During Thursday night’s 6-2 win against the Soo Thunderbirds, Hearst Lumberjacks forward Zachary Demers recorded 2 goals and 3 assists, which gave him a total of 13 points on the season.
Demers, who now has 13 points on the season, has now also moved into sole possession of first in league scoring.
HURRAY FOR BOURRET
On Thursday night in Hearst, Soo Thunderbirds rookie goaltender Kolton Bourret was named third star of the game, making 32 saves on 38 shots.
It was also the third time this season that Bourret was named as one of the three stars of a game.
In his last start in net back on Friday, September 16 in the Soo, Bourret was named first star of the game after he turned aside 20 shots in a 3-1 victory over the French River Rapids at the John Rhodes.
(Photo of Thunderbirds forward Ethan Novello credit to Bob Davies)
