The Soo Thunderbirds suffered a narrow defeat to open the Newmarket Showcase Tournament.
The Thunderbirds, who advanced to the semi-finals in their last appearance in 2001, fell 4-3 to the Syracuse Stars on Saturday afternoon at the heavily scouted Junior A tournament.
Joining the Thunderbirds from the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League is the league leading Sudbury Northern Wolves, who opened with a tight 3-2 win over Ajax.
The Thunderbirds continue with an afternoon contest against the Mississauga Chargers on Sunday before finishing the preliminary round on Monday morning against the Vaughan Vipers. The Wolves play twice on Sunday against Thornhill and Milton.
*** HOLIDAY CLASSIC:
Both AAA bantam representatives from Sault Ste. Marie are participating at the International Holiday Classic Tournament this weekend in Toronto.
The Soo Greyhounds Bantam AAA's opened with a pair of 2-0 shutouts on Saturday in the minor bantam division over the Don Mills Flyers and Oshawa O.M.S.
The Greyhounds have a lone afternoon contest on Sunday against the Syracuse Stars before concluding the preliminary round on Monday morning against the Philadelphia Phantoms.
Meanwhile, the Soo Thunder split their opening two games on Saturday in the major bantam division after opening with a 3-2 win over the Oakville Rangers before dropping a 5-4 decision to the New Jersey Rockets.
The Thunder are back in action with two games on Sunday against the Toronto Young Nationals and Team Illinois.