By Matt Stefano
Six goals. Six different players.
The Soo Thunderbirds got goals from six different players on Saturday night as they defeated the Cochrane Crunch by a score of 6-1 at John Rhodes Community Centre in Sault Ste. Marie.
The Thunderbirds, who scored six times on Saturday night, also scored six times in a single game for the third time this season.
“It was a good game by the boys tonight,” said Soo Thunderbirds forward Daniel Beaupre. “We just did what we had to do. We got a lot of pucks to the net and it was a good team effort all around.”
On Saturday night, Thunderbirds forward Daniel Beaupre recorded two points with a goal and an assist, which extended his point-scoring streak to four games.
Beaupre, who scored once and set up another on Saturday night, also gave himself his third straight multi-point game.
“My streak is going well,” said Beaupre, who now has 3 goals and 5 assists in his last 4 games. “I just feel like I’ve been playing the right way for a while and I’m finally getting rewarded. I’m definitely happy to be putting points up and my linemates have also been giving me opportunities to score.”
Beaupre opened the scoring for the Thunderbirds with his 8th goal of the season at the 4:32 mark of the first period from Austin Fellinger, which gave the Thunderbirds a 1-0 lead.
Beaupre then got his second point of the night with an assist on Wyatt Marlow’s 6th goal of the season at the 17:36 mark of the first, which gave the Thunderbirds a 2-0 lead heading into the second.
“Marlow and I have some good chemistry both on and off the ice,” Beaupre said about Marlow. “We both live together here in the Soo and that helps a lot, so he’s definitely been a big reason why I’ve been on this point-scoring streak too.”
With the Thunderbirds leading the Crunch 2-0 just over three and a half minutes into the second, it would then be Thunderbirds newly acquired forward Alex Remenda getting his first NOJHL goal on the power play from Wyatt Marlow and Austin Fellinger at 3:37, which gave the Thunderbirds a 3-0 lead.
Remenda, who was picked up by the Thunderbirds in a trade from the CCHL’s Brockville Braves back on Friday, also gave himself his first goal in his NOJHL debut.
“It felt great to get my first goal in my first game,” Remenda said. “I thought I had a solid-two way game tonight and I was happy to help my team get the two points.”
Just 2:07 after Remenda’s goal, it would then be Thunderbirds rookie forward Jackson Truchan getting his 11th goal of the season from Tyler Boudreau, which put the Thunderbirds up by a score of 4-0.
With the Thunderbirds leading the Crunch 4-0 early in third period, it would then be Thunderbirds leading scorer Dharan Cap getting his 14th goal of the season from Jackson Truchan and Austin Fellinger at 1:18, which put the Thunderbirds up by five.
Fellinger, who drew an assist on Cap’s tally, also gave himself his third assist of the evening, which turned out to be his first career three-point game.
“The boys are always open and they bury their chances when I give them the puck,” Fellinger said.
Fellinger’s three assist performance on Saturday night, also gave him 12 assists on the season, which moved him into sole possession of first among all Thunderbird blueliners in assists, passing Brodie McConnell-Barker.
But McConnell-Barker was not in the Thunderbirds lineup on Saturday night, due to the fact that he was called by the Ontario Hockey League’s Soo Greyhounds.
“Cole (Jarrett) and Hendo (Jamie Henderson) are always helping me push higher and higher,” Fellinger said. “They’re always making me better on and off the ice and we’ve been working on drills during our practices to make my shot better and find the open space.”
Just 10 seconds after Cap’s goal, the Crunch would then get a goal from forward Mathieu Roy with assists going to Liam Boswell and Blake Menard, which cut the Thunderbirds lead to 5-1.
Roy, who was acquired by the Crunch in a trade from the Hearst Lumberjacks back on October 13, gave himself his 3rd goal of the season and his 2nd goal as a member of the Crunch.
With the Thunderbirds on a power play almost eight and a half minutes into the third, it would then be defenceman Kaden Dundas getting his 4th goal of the season from Dharan Cap and Kolby Fellinger at 8:27, which made the score 6-1 for the Thunderbirds.
Crunch goaltender Jake Dubinsky gave up 6 goals on 47 shots in the loss while Thunderbirds netminder Kolton Bourret made 20 saves for the victory.
With the win, the Thunderbirds have now improved their record to 13 wins, 7 losses, 2 overtime losses and 1 shootout loss, good for 29 points.
They also remain in third place in the NOJHL’s West Division standings, just two points back of the Blind River Beavers for second.
The Thunderbirds will now be back in action on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m., when they will visit Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to take on the Soo Eagles at the Pullar Stadium.
(Photo credit to Bob Davies)
