T-Birds take two of three on the road

The Soo Thunderbirds will return home from their first extended road trip of the season with a pair of wins in three outings.

After opening the road trip with a 4-1 win over the Manitoulin Islanders on Friday night, the Thunderbirds followed with a 7-1 drubbing of the Abitibi Eskimos on Saturday before dropping a 5-4 decision to the Sudbury Northern Wolves on Sunday night.

On Saturday, Yves Bernard gave the Eskimos an early 1-0 lead before the Thunderbirds exploded for the game's final seven goals.

Nick Minardi and Chris Towell paced the attack with two goals each while singles went to Justin Shelleby, Matt Conway and Tyler Gendron. Mark Thorburn, Mike McMillan, Zac McNally, Ryan Maunu and Gendron each recorded two assists.

Michael Maulucci picked up the win in goal for the Thunderbirds, who outshot the Eskimos 49-25.

In Sudbury, the Northern Wolves used four second period goals to lift themselves to the win. The Thunderbirds rallied to pull to within a goal but could not find the equalizer.

McNally, Gendron, Maunu and Adam Kauppi scored for the Birds while Brian McGarry and Josh Slobodian scored twice for the Wolves with a single going to Brendan Biedermenn. Michael Quesnele chipped in a pair of assists for the Soo.

The Thunderbirds now sit at 4-2 on the season and share first place in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League's Western Division with the Blind River Beavers.

Next action for the Thunderbirds is Friday at the John Rhodes Community Centre when the Northern Wolves visit for a 7:30 p.m. start.