Soo Thunderbirds clinch West Division crown after edging Blind River 2-1

NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE

NOJHL NETWORK MEDIA UPDATE

Release Date: Friday, Feb. 17, 2017

Soo Thunderbirds clinch West Division crown after edging Blind River 2-1

BLIND RIVER, Ont. – An Austin Kozluk goal nine and a half minutes into the first period proved to be the game-winner as the Soo Thunderbirds edged the Blind River Beavers 2-1 in a hard fought Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League contest Friday at the Blind River Community Centre.

Keegan Stevenson staked Sault Ste. Marie to an early lead as he notched his 10th tally of the season 2:28 into the opening frame.

Blind River countered with the equalizer a couple of minutes later as Dylan McMahon collected his 13th of the campaign.

Kozluk’s 22nd put the Thunderbirds back in front later in the session in what would prove to be the final marker of the night.

Both goaltenders in Brandon Gordon of the Soo and the Beavers Myles Hektor shut the door the rest of the way in keeping opposing shooters off the board.

Gordon finished with 31 saves in picking up the victory for the T-Birds while Hektor faced 46 shots in defeat for Blind River.

With the result, the Thunderbirds moved 13 points ahead of the second place Beavers in the NOJHL West Division standings and thereby clinched the divisional crown for yet another season while improving to 36-11-1-1 overall with the Beavers falling to 29-19-3-0 in the loss.