Underdog Thunderbirds Upend Beavers in Seven to Advance to Semi-Final Series to Meet Cubs -

In a thrilling game seven showdown of the NOJHL quarter-finals, the Soo Thunderbirds proved their resilience after forcing a decisive seventh game with a dominant 3-0 shutout win in Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday, March 29th. On Tuesday, April 1st, the Thunderbirds traveled to Blind River, Ontario, with one final challenge ahead of them—securing a spot in the semi-finals. They didn’t disappoint, cruising to a 6-3 victory over the Blind River Beavers.

It didn’t take long for the Thunderbirds to make their mark in game seven. Just 50 seconds into the opening period, James Legler opened the scoring with a bullet of a snapshot from the right boards. His shot beat Beavers’ goaltender Connor Dunham-Fox, finding the top left corner of the net and giving the Thunderbirds a 1-0 lead. Callum McAuley assisted on Legler’s second goal of the postseason.

The Beavers weren’t going to back down, though. At 10:28 of the first, Blind River responded with an equalizer. AJ Saadeh fired a pass from the left corner to Ryder Hill, who was parked in front of the Soo net. Hill slid the puck past Thunderbirds’ goaltender Noah Metivier’s left pad to even the score at 1-1. Rylan Gibbs added the secondary assist on Hill’s first goal of the playoffs.

The Thunderbirds regained the lead early in the second period during a power play. At 3:08, James Elliott fired a shot from the left faceoff circle. The puck was quickly gathered off the rebound by Jacob Smith, who buried it past Dunham-Fox for a 2-1 Soo lead. Aiden Atkinson also picked up an assist on Smith’s third goal of the series.

Only eleven seconds after the Soo’s go-ahead goal, Jonathan Sonedecker extended the Thunderbirds’ advantage. From the left faceoff circle, Sonedecker rifled a shot over Dunham-Fox’s right shoulder to make it 3-1. Deven Jones-McDonald recorded the assist on Sonedecker’s first goal of the postseason.

The Thunderbirds didn’t stop there. Early in the third period, Elliott added another goal, making it 4-1 at 4:09. Positioned to the left of the Beavers’ net, Elliott managed to slip the puck past Dunham-Fox after a nifty move to slide it underneath the goaltender. Bryan Fenlon assisted on the play.

Legler, who had been a standout all series, struck again at 8:02. Capitalizing on a turnover in front of the Beavers’ net, Legler fired a wrist shot past Dunham-Fox for his second goal of the night, pushing the Thunderbirds’ lead to 5-1.
Blind River managed to pull one back at 12:55 of the third period. Sault Ste. Marie native and Beaver affiliate player Caleb Walker fired a slapshot from the blue line, beating Metivier over the right shoulder to make it 5-2. Saadeh earned the assist on Walker’s first goal of the playoffs.

With just under five minutes left in the game, the Thunderbirds sealed the win. On a two-on-one break, Legler set up Nate Dugwell, who buried the puck past Dunham-Fox to give the Thunderbirds a commanding 6-2 lead. Declan Gallivan also assisted on Dugwell’s first postseason goal. From the left faceoff circle, Saadeh took a quick shot on the Thunderbird net, sending the puck toward the goal net. Wyatt Gibson, positioned perfectly in front, deflected the shot into the net for his first playoff goal with the Beavers, bringing the score to 6-3 with just 75 seconds remaining in the game. The goal, a crucial late tally, was set up with an assist from Gibbs, who earned the secondary assist on Gibson’s timely tip-in. Beaver goaltender Connor Dunham-Fox stopped 28 of 24 shots in the 6 – 3 loss while Thunderbird netminder Noah Metivier turned away 37 of 40 shots in the Soo’s game seven win.

Thunderbird coach Jamie Henderson told Saultsports that “as expected it was a battle from start to finish. I’m so proud of the group they really stuck to our game plan and came to play tonight. We know Sudbury is a powerhouse team, and it’s a quick turnaround. Well enjoy this tonight and be ready to hit the road Thursday.”

The victory secured the Thunderbirds’ place in the NOJHL semi-finals, where they will now face the Sudbury Cubs, the regular season champions. The series is set to begin in Sudbury, Ontario on April 3rd and 4th, and fans can expect another hard-fought battle between two of these historic junior ‘A’ NOJHL hockey programs. After an impressive performance in game seven, the Thunderbirds will look to continue their playoff run and push for a championship.