Photos: Northern Exposures Photography
ELLIOT LAKE, Ont. – Soo Thunderbirds rookie goaltender Kolton Bourret was there when called upon Friday as he backstopped the Soo Thunderbirds to a 2-0 triumph over the Elliot Lake Red Wings for his first Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League shutout in a contest held at Centennial Arena.
Visiting Sault Ste. Marie collected the lone marker in the opening frame, which proved to be the gme-winner, as Youssef Chaouachi put a low shot under Elliot Lake netminder Cameron Smith, nearly eight minutes in, from the left side off a scramble in the Red Wings’ end.
A tight-checking middle stanza saw neither side convert offensively and resulted in the Thunderbirds carrying their slim one-goal edge into the third period.
There, the Soo struck early in transition to extend their lead as they broke in on the rush and saw Justin Mauro rip a wrist shot into the top left-hand corner for his first in his season debut since returning to the NOJHL.
Bourret stood tall throughout and the T-Birds defensive corps did the rest in stymieing the Red Wings throughout in skating away with the road victory.
The result of the NOJHL West Division match-up sees the Thunderbirds improve to 14-8-2-1 while Elliot Lake dropped to 11-11-0-1 on the campaign.
