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The Soo Thunderbirds live to fight another day.
After dropping the opening three games of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League final, the Thunderbirds avoided elimination on Friday thanks to a 4-2 win over the Hearst Lumberjacks at Claude Larose Arena in Hearst.
After a scoreless opening period, rookie defenceman Andrew Gibson got the Thunderbirds on the board 15 seconds into period two when he beat Hearst goaltender Matteo Gennaro with a shot from the right point glove side to open the scoring.
Ryan Glazer tied the game for Hearst at 5:57 when defenceman Dylan Ford sent the puck to the net from the left point and Glazer stopped in before stepping out from the side of the goal and sliding a backhand past Thunderbirds netminder Noah Metivier.
Just 1:17 later, the Thunderbirds took the lead for good when defenceman Mason Chitaroni beat Gennaro with a point shot through traffic high glove side on the power play to make it 2-1.
Brock Santa Maria extended the lead 1:25 into the third period when he skated through the right faceoff circle and deflected a shot from the right point by Kaden Dundas past Gennaro.
With 3:23 to go in the third Dharan Cap made it 4-1 for the visitors when he took a pass in the slot from Michael Chaffay in the left faceoff circle and slid a backhand past Gennaro,
Ford capped off the scoring for the Lumberjacks in the final seconds of regulation when he took a pass off a faceoff win by Brayden Palfi and beat Metivier stick side from the high slot o the power play.
Dundas had three assists fore the Thunderbirds in the win while Chaffay and Colby Arbour added a pair of assists each.
Metivier made 34 saves for the Thunderbirds while Gennaro stopped 16 shots for Hearst.
The Lumberjacks lead the series 3-1 heading into game five on Sunday night in Sault Ste. Marie. Puck drop at the John Rhodes Community Centre is set for 7 p.m.
The winner of the series will represent the NOJHL at the Centennial Cup in Estevan, Sask. later this month.