BLIND RIVER, Ont. – An Alex Acosta goal late in the second period stood up as the game-winner as the Soo Thunderbirds skated to their fifth consecutive Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League win Saturday as they defeated the Blind River Beavers 3-1 at the Blind River Community Centre.
After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Dylan McMahon’s 15th tally of the season gave Blind River the lead just past the three-minute plateau of the middle stanza.
Sault Ste. Marie came back with the equalizer at 11:39 of the frame on a Lucas Theriault man advantage effort.
Acosta then picked up the eventual difference maker with 1:41 left in the second as he finished off a Theriault feed to put the visitors up by one heading into the third.
It stayed 2-1 Thunderbirds until the final minute of regulation when Noah Solinger iced it with a late empty netter to secure the road decision for the Soo.
Kaidan McDonald dished out two assists for the Thunderbirds as he helped set-up his club’s final two tallies.
Shots on goal in the contest favoured the Soo by a 43-36 margin with Brandon Gordon picking up the win while Michael Corson suffered the narrow setback in net for the Beavers.
