Reid, Dube pace Thunderbirds to win

Strong goaltending and a timely goal gave the Soo Thunderbirds a much needed victory on Friday night over the Soo Indians.

The Thunderbirds used a goal in the final minute of the third period to send the game into overtime before Jake Reid capped off the comeback late in the extra frame. Reid's second goal of the game came after he cut around the Indians defensemen and beat goaltener Elliot Hogue to give the Thunderbirds a 4-3 victory.

"We circled back into our zone and (Shawn) Bibeau picked up the puck and I just curled and started breaking and he gave me the puck and I just skated as hard as I could," said Reid of the game winner. "Once I got a step on the defenseman I just went hard to the net, trying to cause some traffic and get the puck on net."

The win comes on the heels of a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the North Bay Skyhawks at the Steelback Centre on Saturday night, though a slow start could have led to the Thunderbirds second straight loss.

"We worked on some stuff on the forecheck (Thursday) in practice for a long time and in the first period we went to execute the game plan and we did not do it at all," said Thunderbirds coach Pat Carricato. "In the second period we scrapped that game plan and went to a new one and in the second period I thought we played well. In the third period we got into some penalty trouble, but our penalty kill was awesome tonight. They worked hard for that win."

To go along with Reid's two goal performance, Adam Kauppi and Kyle Johnson also scored for the Thunderbirds. Kauppi's goal tied the game with 29 seconds remaining in the third period after a loose puck hit an Indians players skate in the slot and got past Hogue. Shane Bailey, David Taylor, and Nick Zilka scored for the Indians.

"I thought we had a really good first period but we didn't play as smart in the second and third," said Indians coach Jim Capy. The tying goal went off our skate so I guess that's the luck of the Irish sometimes. "I thought (Thunderbirds goaltender) Ryan Dube was really good tonight and gave them a chance to win. We had some opportunities where we might have put the puck in the net but we didn't."

"Our goaltending has been good all year," added Capy. "Tonight Elliot gave us a chance to win. It was a lucky bounce on the tying goal. For us, we're pretty satisfied with the first half of our year. We're right in the mix with a bunch of other teams. It's better to be able to say that than to be chasing six teams."

Thuderbirds goaltender Ryan Dube had a strong night stopping 23 shots, including a number of key saves during the opening period and after the locals fell behind in the middle frame.

"He's been doing it all year," Carricato said of his goaltender. "We gave a lot of opportunities up and he gave us a chance to win. He does that every game and we're lucky to have him. He's on fire and he was by far our best player tonight."

With the win, the Thunderbirds record now improves to 14-11-0-1 while the Indians fall to 17-10-0-1.

Both teams now have time to rest and nurse any lingering injuries as both clubs will not see action until the new year. The Thunderbirds next regular season game will be when they takeon the Abitibi Eskimos on Jan. 4 while the Indians will face the Blind River Beavers on Jan. 6.