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Photo Credit: Freeze Frame Photos
On Saturday, February 15th, the sixth-place Soo Thunderbirds hosted the first-place Sudbury Cubs in an exciting Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) matchup at the John Rhodes Centre. The Thunderbirds wasted no time in making their mark, as Jonathan Sonedecker led the charge with a hat trick performance, powering his team to a 4-2 win.
It took just 14 seconds into the opening period for Sonedecker to get the crowd buzzing, as he potted his 18th goal of the season past Sudbury goaltender Noah Beaulne. The goal was assisted by Callum McAuley and James Legler, giving the Thunderbirds an early 1-0 lead.
Sonedecker wasn’t finished yet. Just over three minutes later, at 3:36, he netted his second goal of the game, a quick strike that gave Soo a 2-0 lead. Once again, McAuley and Legler were credited with the assists, showing the chemistry between the trio.
At 7:20 of the first period, Sonedecker completed his hat trick with a stunning shot for his 20th of the season, extending the Thunderbirds’ lead to 3-0. The dynamic duo of McAuley and Legler once again had the assists, completing a remarkable first period for the Thunderbirds, who found themselves up by three goals.
Sudbury would respond midway through the period when Lucas Signoretti, the Cubs’ top scorer, buried his 40th goal of the season at 11:18 to pull Sudbury within three. Jacob Signoretti and Michael MacLean each earned an assist on the goal, giving the Cubs some hope heading into the second period.
The Thunderbirds would extend their lead in the third period when Jacob Smith scored his 17th goal of the season at 3:44, assisted by Deven Jones-McDonald and Nate Dugwell. With a 4-1 lead, it looked like the Thunderbirds had the game well in hand.
However, Sudbury wasn’t ready to go quietly. With just over three minutes left in the game, at 16:04, Lucas Signoretti found the back of the net again, this time unassisted, to make it a 4-2 game. Despite the late push, the Cubs could not get any closer, and the Thunderbirds secured the victory.
In net, Soo goaltender Noah Metivier was solid, turning aside 35 of 37 shots to pick up the win. Meanwhile, Sudbury’s Beaulne faced 23 shots and stopped 19 in the loss.
With the win, the Thunderbirds improve to 23-20-1-2 on the season, while the Cubs drop to 38-5-1-1.
Thunderbird coach Jamie Henderson told Saultsports that “I loved our compete tonight. We obviously got off to a great start, which was huge because we knew there would be a pushback. It felt like a playoff game, and I’m really proud of the guys for sticking with it for sixty minutes.
“The boys played a hell of a game in front of me tonight and that’s what our expectations should be for the rest of the year. A win is a win to me no matter who our opponent is. We set the tone and pace of the game and hopefully sent a message to the league that the soo thunderbirds are here to win,” added Soo netminder Noah Metivier.
The Thunderbirds will return to action on Sunday, February 16th, when they travel to Blind River for a 1:00 p.m. afternoon matinee against the Beavers. Meanwhile, Sudbury heads home to take on the Timmins Rock on Thursday, February 20th, with puck drop set for 7:05 p.m.
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