It may not have been the prettiest win but the Soo Thunderbirds will take it.
After going through the motions for the majority of the game, the Thunderbirds showed more determination in the third period and scored with 4:31 left to break a 3-3 tie and later added an empty net marker to defeat the Sudbury Northern Wolves 5-3 on Sunday night at the John Rhodes Community Centre.
The win improves the Thunderbirds record to 5-2 and gives the club sole possession of second place in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League's Western Division.
Billy Griffore scored the game winner while singles went to Pat Keating, Mark Thorburn, Joey Thorburn and Matt Dias into the empty net. Ryan Maunu and Chris Towell added two assists each for the locals. The goals by each Thorburn marked their first in the league.
"I hope we learned our lesson on not taking any opponent lightly," said Thunderbirds head coach Toots Kovacs. "You can't under estimate any opponent whether you're playing cards, darts or playing bocce.
"I do like the fact that we hung on for the win and they dug down in the third period when we needed it most.
"We dressed on eight forwards and five defenseman so there can be all kinds of excuses for being tired but show me a kid at this level who doesn't want to play with that many guys," said Kovacs.
Despite the low numbers, the Thunderbirds are well aware of the need to add extra bodies to the lineup. When the Soo North Stars are in town, the Thunderbirds have the luxury of beefing up their lineup.
On Sunday, the Thunderbirds played without Kyle Rodgers, who is out with a groin injury, and Derek MacKay, who was back at school at Wayne State University.
"Ideally we would like to have seven defenseman and 12 or 13 forwards but we're not going to sign players just for sake of signing players," said Thunderbirds assistant director of hockey operations Brian Gaulazzi.
"It has to be the right kind of kid who is going to fit this team so we're not going to sign anybody just to fill the roster."
Kyle Jokela, Brendan Biederman, who also added two assists, and Matt Bortolotto scored for Sudbury, who sits last in the Eastern Division with a 1-8-1 record.
Donnie Bruni made a start in goal for the Thunderbirds and played well kicking aside 26 of 29 shots. The Wolves also received a solid performance from netminder Jonathan Robin.
The Thunderbirds will now enjoy an extended break from NOJHL competition as the next scheduled contest is Friday, Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. against the North Bay Skyhawks at the Rhodes.
PHOTO: Thunderbirds Mark Thorburn (#7). (All photos courtesy of Jim Egan.)