SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – Brendan Miller picked up his first two-goal night in his Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League career Saturday as his multi-tally effort in the third period helped lead the Soo Thunderbirds to a 5-2 triumph over the Soo Eagles at John Rhodes Community Centre.
A two-man advantage in the first period helped the hometown Thunderbirds open the scoring as Kaidan McDonald collected his 13th tally of the season at 11:55.
They then went up by a pair in the second stanza compliments of Camden Findlay only to see the Eagles’ Mikey Butcher get the visitors going with his fifth at 16:39.
Moving on to the third, the Thunderbirds went up 3-1 at 8:38 on Miller’s third, but the Eagles countered quickly thanks to Charley Hanewall’s seventh on the next shift.
However, the Thunderbirds restored their cushion as Miller tallied once more at 11:10 before Nate Medaglia wrapped it up with his first NOJHL marker in the final minute to secure the result.
Colin Ahern finished with 29 saves in the Thunderbirds net to pick up the win while the Eagles’ Shane Brancato saw 25 shots fired his way in the loss.
With the victory, the Thunderbirds moved back into top spot in the overall NOJHL standings with 46 points and a 23-6-0-0 record.
In defeat, the Eagles slipped to 13-17-0-1 overall.
Game Photos courtesy of Rod Aubertin – SSM Photos
