By Matt Stefano
On Thursday night, the Soo Thunderbirds registered a season high 56 shots on net, but captain Matt Caruso was the only player to find the back of the net, scoring twice in a 2-0 victory over the Espanola Express.
“It feels good to contribute, but more over it’s better to get the win,” said Caruso, who was named first star of the game.
Caruso, who led the way with a goal and two helpers in a 5-3 win in Blind River one night ago, led the T-Birds to their sixth consecutive victory on Thursday night at the Essar Centre.
“We took that win in BR (Blind River), carried it over into today and I thought we did a very good job and got the win,” continued the T-Birds captain.
Thursday night also marked the third time this season that the T-Birds have registered 50 plus shots on net in a single game.
“Their goalie played very well. We didn’t get many bodies in front of him, so he saw a lot of pucks,” said Caruso.
The T-Birds entered the game sitting first place in the West Division while Espanola was in the opposite direction, sitting in last.
“It was a back and forth game. We got into some penalty trouble in the second, but I thought we regrouped in the third and we got the “W”,” concluded Caruso.
Keegan Stevenson had one assist for the T-Birds on Thursday night.
Express goaltender Logan Sawka gave up 2 goals on 56 shots for the loss while T-Birds rookie goalie Dougie Newhouse made 15 saves for his second shutout of the season and second one against the Espanola Express.
The T-Birds will visit now visit the Blind River Community Centre on Wednesday, December 7th at 7:00 p.m. to take on the Beavers.
(Photo credit to James Egan’s Sports Photography)
