By Matt Stefano
The Birds are finally back!
After going 49 days without hockey, the Soo Thunderbirds will be returning to the ice tonight at 7:30 p.m. when they take on the Greater Sudbury Cubs at the John Rhodes Community Centre in Sault Ste. Marie.
This will also be the Thunderbirds first hockey game of the year 2022.
HEAD TO HEAD
In five meetings against the Cubs this season, the Thunderbirds have defeated them 4 times and have only lost to them once in overtime.
The Soo has also outscored Greater Sudbury 19-12 overall.
IN THEIR LAST MEETING
The last time the Thunderbirds and Cubs met was back on Thursday, November 25, when the Thunderbirds hammered the Cubs by a score of 6-2 at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex in Greater Sudbury.
That night (November 25), Thunderbirds forward Alfred Rotiroti scored three times for his first NOJHL hat trick while Thunderbirds rookie forward Youssef Chaouachi also had a three point night with a trio of helpers.
WHERE THEY FINISHED BEFORE THE BREAK
The Thunderbirds entered the Christmas break and the new year sitting in first place in the NOJHL’s West Division standings with a record of 19 wins, 4 losses, 2 overtime losses and 3 shootout losses, good for 43 points.
They were also the highest scoring team in the NOJHL’s West Division with 107 goals.
The Cubs, meanwhile, entered the holiday break and the new year sitting in fourth place in the NOJHL’s West Division standings with a record of 13 wins, 10 losses, and 1 overtime loss, good for 27 points.
OHL EXPERIENCE
Entering tonight’s game, the Thunderbirds have two players on their team that have been getting some ice time in the Ontario Hockey League.
Those two players are Cooper Foster and Andrew Gibson.
Foster, who is currently in his rookie season with the Thunderbirds, has already skated in 13 games this season with the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s, where he recorded 4 assists and 6 shots on net.
The 16-year-old forward from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario currently leads his hometown Thunderbirds in scoring with 31 points in 20 games played.
Gibson, who is also in his rookie season with the Thunderbirds, has already skated in 6 games this season with the Ontario Hockey League’s Soo Greyhounds, where he recorded 6 penalty minutes.
The 16-year-old defenceman from Windsor, Ontario is also leading all NOJHL blueliners in goals with 13 and power play tallies with 7.
ROTIROTI ON THE ROAD
Since coming over to the Thunderbirds in a trade from the MHL’s Yarmouth Mariners back in November, forward Alfred Rotiroti has so far scored 5 times this season for the Thunderbirds, and all 5 of his tallies this season have come on the road.
The Chicago, Illinois native also recorded his first NOJHL hat trick in the Thunderbirds 6-2 victory over the Greater Sudbury Cubs back on November 25 in Sudbury.
Rotiroti, who is entering tonight’s game with 5 goals in 9 games played with the Thunderbirds, is still looking to get his first goal on John Rhodes ice.
SUPER SOUPY
When it comes to playing shorthanded, Greater Sudbury Cubs forward Kyler Campbell has been super.
Kyler “Soupy” Campbell currently leads all NOJHL players in shorthanded tallies with 4.
Campbell’s first shorthanded tally of the season also came against the Thunderbirds back on September 26, when the Thunderbirds defeated the Cubs by a score of 5-4 at the John Rhodes.
SUBTRACTIONS ON TRADE DEADLINE
Dating back to the January 10 trade deadline, the Soo Thunderbirds made a pair of moves by trading away second-year forward Tyson Doucette and rookie defenceman Creo Solomon.
In their first move of the January 10 trade deadline, the Thunderbirds traded their leading goal scorer Tyson Doucette to the OJHL’s Aurora Tigers in exchange for a player development fee.
Before getting traded to the Tigers, Doucette led the Thunderbirds in goals with 15 and was third in team scoring with 27 points.
Doucette also led the Thunderbirds in power play goals with 9 and game winning goals with 5.
Then, in their second and final move of the day, the Thunderbirds then ended up trading rookie blueliner Creo Solomon to the GOJHL’s Wellington Dukes.
In 26 games played with the Thunderbirds this season, Solomon scored 5 times and set up 10 others.
Before getting traded to the Tigers, Solomon also led all Thunderbird blueliners in penalty minutes with 31.
THE GREAT LAKE
So far in this regular season series against the Cubs, Thunderbirds rookie forward Samuel Lake has been leading the way offensively.
In five meetings against the Cubs this season, Lake has scored 4 times and has set up 2 others, good for 6 points.
In their first game against the Cubs back on September 26 in the Soo, Lake also recorded his first career hat trick, helping the Soo to a 5-4 victory over the Cubs at the John Rhodes.
BIRDS ON THE PK
Looking at special teams now, the Thunderbirds have had the most success in the NOJHL when it comes to the penalty kill.
At the conclusion of 2021, the Thunderbirds had the best penalty kill in the entire NOJHL, operating at 87.8%.
The Birds also went a perfect 5 for 5 on their penalty kill against the Soo Eagles in their final game before the Christmas break and the new year back on December 17.
(Photo of Thunderbirds defenceman Andrew Gibson credit to Bob Davies)
