File photo: Bob Davies
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – A nifty Deven Jones-McDonald individual rush, 13 seconds into overtime, saw him cap-off a 4-3 come from behind triumph by the Soo Thunderbirds over the Soo Eagles Sunday in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League exhibition action at John Rhodes Community Centre.
The Eagles opened the scoring with 7:18 remaining in the first period when Coulson Bell came out of the penalty box and chased down a clearing attempt, then while driving from right to left, lifted a shot past a downed Ryan Hicks in the Thunderbirds’ net.
Remaining 1-0 for the visitors into the middle stanza, they went ahead by a pair after Nolan Nemecek snapped one in from the slot at 6:44.
Countering, Callum McAuley put the Thunderbirds on the board and he collected the work of Jones-McDonald and wired one in from the left side.
Pulling even late in the middle stanza, Max DeCoff whipped one through traffic from the top of the right circle.
Taking the lead, Aiden Atkinson generated a turnover in the neutral zone then proceeded to work a slick give-and-go before slamming in the return feed into the open side of the net to put the hosts up 3-2.
Battling back to force extra time, Lucas Caulfield jammed in the equalizer for the visitors during a goal-mouth scramble with 1:42 left in the third.
Ending it moments into OT, a nice rush up-ice by Jones-McDonald saw him dart in with a purpose and lift in the game-winner to wrap-up a weekend sweep of the Eagles.
Hicks made 32 stops in net to pick-up the win for the T-Birds.
Jensen Rousseau was credited with 29 saves between the pipes for the Eagles.
NOJHL preseason results and upcoming games:
| Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League | ||||
| 2025 Preseason Schedule/Results (As of September 8) | ||||
| DATE | VISITOR | HOME | TIME | VENUE/RESULT |
| Friday, Aug. 22 | Kirkland Lake Gold Miners | Lindsay Muskies | Final | 3-1 Gold Miners |
| Saturday, Aug. 23 | Kirkland Lake Gold Miners | King Rebellion (OJHL) | Final | 5-3 Rebellion |
| Sunday, Aug. 24 | Kirkland Lake Gold Miners | Pickering Panthers | Final | 3-0 Panthers |
| Tuesday, Aug. 26 | Timmins Rock | Powassan Voodoos | Final | 5-2 Rock |
| Tuesday, Aug. 26 | Collingwood Blues (OJHL) | Timmins Rock | Final | 7-1 Blues |
| Tuesday, Aug. 26 | Newmarket Hurricanes (OJHL) | Powassan Voodoos | Final | 7-1 Hurricanes |
| Wednesday, Aug. 27 | Collingwood Blues (OJHL) | Powassan Voodoos | Final | 5-2 Blues |
| Wednesday, Aug. 27 | Timmins Rock | Newmarket Hurricanes (OJHL) | Final | 2-0 Hurricanes |
| Wednesday, Aug. 27 | No. 4 Powassan Voodoos | No. 1 Collingwood Blues | Final | 5-2 Blues |
| Wednesday, Aug. 27 | No. 3 Timmins Rock | No. 2 Newmarket Hurricanes | Final | 4-0 Hurricanes |
| Thursday, Aug. 28 | Powassan Voodoos | Timmins Rock | Final | 3rd place game: 4-1 Rock |
| Sunday, Aug. 31 | Hearst Lumberjacks | Iroquois Falls Storm | Final | 3-0 Lumberjacks |
| Wednesday, Sept. 3 | Iroquois Falls Storm | Hearst Lumberjacks | Final | 7-2 Lumberjacks |
| Thursday, Sept. 4 | Blind River Beavers | Greater Sudbury Cubs | Final | 3-2 Cubs |
| Friday, Sept. 5 | Espanola Paper Kings | French River Rapids | Final | 7-4 Paper Kings |
| Friday, Sept. 5 | Kam River Fighting Walleye (SIJHL) | Hearst Lumberjacks | Final | 3-2 Walleye |
| Friday, Sept. 5 | Timmins Rock | Iroquois Falls Storm | Final | 3-1 Storm |
| Saturday, Sept. 6 | Kam River Fighting Walleye (SIJHL) | Hearst Lumberjacks | Final | 10-3 Lumberjacks |
| Saturday, Sept. 6 | Kirkland Lake Gold Miners | Powassan Voodoos | Final | 4-1 Voodoos |
| Saturday, Sept. 6 | Soo Thunderbirds | Soo Eagles | Final | 5-1 Thunderbirds |
| Saturday, Sept. 6 | French River Rapids | Espanola Paper Kings | Final | 4-2 Paper Kings |
| Saturday, Sept. 6 | Timmins Rock | Iroquois Falls Storm | Final | 3-1 Storm |
| Sunday, Sept. 7 | Soo Eagles | Soo Thunderbirds | Final | 4-3 Thunderbirds (OT) |
| Monday, Sept. 8 | Blind River Beavers | French River Rapids | 7 p.m. | Noelville Arena |
