SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – Riding the first Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League shutout by rookie goaltender Nathan Maguire the Soo Thunderbirds blanked the Iroquois Falls Storm 3-0 Friday in a get together at John Rhodes Community Centre.
A tight-checking opening frame was scoreless as the two clubs went to their respective dressing rooms knotted at 0-0 after 20 minutes.
In the second stanza, the Thunderbirds broke the deadlock 3:17 in when Landon Hill collected a loose puck off a Grady Holden point attempt that rang off the post and snapped it past Storm netminder Alex Hall.
Sault Ste. Marie added another while up a skater 13 minutes later as Callum McAuley whipped in a cross-ice feed from the right circle that was supplied by Aiden Atkinson.
Carrying their two-goal lead into the third period, the Soo had a chance to extend their cushion with 11 and a half minutes remaining but Max DeCoff was denied by Hall on a breakaway.
The Thunderbirds did pick up some insurance though a couple of shifts later thanks to Deven Jones-McDonald roofing a spinning back pass down low from Adam Pszeniczny to round out the scoring.
With the victory, the Thunderbirds win their fourth straight, improving to 8-3-0-1 overall.
In defeat, Iroquois Falls slips to 6-6-0-0.
Both clubs are back at it Saturday as the T-Birds host the Greater Sudbury Cubs while the Storm head across the border to take on the Soo Eagles in a pair of 7 p.m. starts.
