Thunderbirds sweep Eagles to clinch NOJHL championship berth

The Soo Thunderbirds remain red hot and it will take them to the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League final.

Just 24 hours after pushing the Soo (Mich.) Eagles to the brink of elimination, the Thunderbirds capped off the series on Saturday night with a 5-2 victory at Pullar Stadium in the Michigan Sault, sweeping the best-of-7 West Division final between the two clubs in the process.

The Thunderbirds are unbeaten in the playoffs after having swept the opening round against the Blind River Beavers as well.

The Thunderbirds have now won 26 consecutive games and gone 27-1 since the beginning of February.

The Eagles opened the scoring 1:46 in when Marc LaFrance beat Thunderbirds starter Noah Metivier with a shot from the slot stick side, giving the Eagles their first least of the series.

Youssef Chaouachi got the Thunderbirds on the board with 3:32 to play in the opening period when he broke down the ice shorthanded, cut through the slot, and beat Eagles goaltender Gabe Rosek short side to tie the game.

Michael Chaffay, coming off a three-goal night Friday, gave the Thunderbirds the lead with a minute to go in the period. Scoring his eighth goal of the playoffs, Chaffay skated out from below the goalline and was stopped initially by Rosek before scoring on his own rebound.

Brian Fiddes tied the game for the Eagles just past the midway point of the second period when he beat Metivier with a shot stick side on a breakaway after a great pass from Jack Mortson coming out of the Eagles zone.

Chaffay gave the Thunderbirds the lead for good 2:12 later when he took a pass from Brock Santa Maria in the right circle and beat Rosek from in close to the left of the net on the power play.

Cole Delarosbil gave the Thunderbirds some breathing room at 16:52 of the middle period when he potted a rebound after Zane Burleigh’s initial shot from the point missed the net and deflected off the end boards.

Cooper Foster sealed the victory with 16.8 seconds to go in the third when he scored into an empty net.

In addition to a two-goal night from Chaffay, Foster also had a pair of points for the Thunderbirds, picking up a goal and an assist in the win.

Metivier made 38 saves for the Thunderbirds while Rosek stopped 35 shots for the Eagles.

The Thunderbirds now advance to the NOJHL championship where they will face the winner of the East Division final between the Hearst Lumberjacks and Timmins Rock.

The Lumberjacks lead that series 2-1 thanks to an overtime win over the Rock on Saturday night in Hearst. Game four in the series is set for Sunday afternoon in Hearst before the series shifts back to Timmins for game five on Monday night.