NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
NOJHL NETWORK MEDIA UPDATE
Release Date: Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016
Caruso & Tassone combine to lead T-Birds past Beavers
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – Matthew Caruso tallied twice and set-up two others while teammate Mark Tassone dished out three assists to help lead the Soo Thunderbirds past the Blind River Beavers 4-2 Sunday evening in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League contest at Essar Centre.
Neither side would dent the twine in the opening 20 minutes with starting netminders Brandon Gordon of Sault Ste. Marie and Blind River’s Myles Hektor keeping opposing shooters at bay.
The Soo stepped up their play in the middle stanza as they grabbed a 2-0 lead on Caruso’s first of the night at 4:12, which was followed by a Jake Reed power play marker just over 10 minutes later.
The Thunderbirds upped their cushion 7:33 into the third when Keenan Eddy connected during a man advantage opportunity for the eventual game-winner.
Special teams allowed Blind River to get one back with 6:46 to go in regulation as Anthony Pullicino notched his third of the season, while the Beavers were up a man.
Countering, Caruso supplied some insurance at 17:07 as the Thunderbirds connected on the power play for a third time on the night.
The Beavers did get one more in the late going as Max Khull notched his fifth overall with 22 seconds to go while his side enjoyed a man advantage.
Gordon finished the night with 22 saves to pick up the win for the T-Birds while Hektor faced 33 shots in defeat for Blind River.
