Thunderbirds take series lead over Beavers

The Soo Thunderbirds grabbed a lead in their Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League quarterfinal series with a 3-2 win over the Blind River Beavers on Saturday night at the John Rhodes Community Centre.

The Thunderbirds now lead the best-of-seven series 2-1 with game four scheduled for Sunday at 7 p.m. at the Rhodes.

After a scoreless first period, Tyler Gendron and Brett Perlini scored to give the Thunderbirds a 2-0 lead.

In the third period, Alex Durinka of the Beavers scored early on the power play but Gendron's second of the night sealed the win at 9:49. Josh Faulkner added a power play for Blind River with 5:50 remaining but the Beavers couldn't complete a comeback.

Thunderbirds goaltender Ryan Dube stopped 31 shots for the win.