The long anticipated battle between the Soo Thunderbirds and Blind River Beavers failed to disappoint.
In a tightly played contest, the Thunderbirds used an overtime goal from call-up Jake McClelland to edge the Beavers 3-2 in overtime in front of a packed house at the John Rhodes Community Centre on Wednesday night.
The summer-long anticipation for the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League regular season contest stemmed from the controversial departure of coach Jim Capy from the Thunderbirds to the Beavers in May.
The teams saved their best effort until the overtime session when both clubs traded thundering body checks, scoring chances and outstanding goaltending.
McClelland, a call-up from the Soo North Stars, became the overtime hero when he ripped the winner past Beavers goaltender Brock Lees with 29.3 seconds remaining.
The win improves the Thunderbirds record to 2-0 on the young season while the Beavers fall to 1-1-0-1.
Lees along with Thunderbirds netminder Michael Maulucci were standouts throughout. Both made several quality stops and were forced to deal with several odd-man rushes.
The Thunderbirds outshot the Beavers 41-34.
"I'm happy to get the two points and I'm happy for Michael Maulucci that the boys pulled it out for him because he was our savior tonight," said Thunderbirds head coach Zoltan "Toots" Kovacs. "He had an outstanding first period and he's our go to guy and he has the job until he can't go.
"But I wasn't happy with our work ethic and thought we had a real breakdown in the second period," continued Kovacs. "You have to play all three periods to be successful. They have an awesome lineup but they were shorthanded and you have to give them a lot of credit because they worked their tails off and were down to three D."
The effort for the Beavers was a gutsy one with the team forced to play with a very short bench, with only 13 skaters, including three defensemen.
With defensemen Anthony Brune, Sean O'Dell and Lucas Goodall out of the lineup, Blind River was forced to move winger Adam Coombs, who has some defensive experience, back to the point.
"I didn't think we competed the way we need to in the first period but after that, I couldn't ask for anything more," said Capy. "There were times when we only had five guys on the bench. I'm disappointed we didn't get two points but I'm extremely pleased that we got one point under trying circumstances.
"If you walk in our dressing room right now, you are going to see some tired players. We've played three games with a short roster and have a win, a loss and an OT loss, so I think we've done well. We're looking forward to having a full roster."
The team was also dealt a blow in the second period when sniper Thomas Laplante was assessed a checking from behind minor and a game misconduct.
"I have to take my hat off to Adam Coombs," said Kovacs. "He is normally a right winger and Jimmy needed him back there and I think he did a helluva job."
Billy Griffore opened the scoring for the Thunderbirds in the first period when he fired a rebound past Lees on a two-on-one break.
Jeff Wills tied the game for the Beavers early in the second when his shot deflected over the shoulder of Maulucci. Jeff Wallis then put Blind River ahead 2-1 at 9:40 of the period while playing four-on-four.
Matt Dias tied the game late in the second period to set up a scoreless third period and the eventual overtime thriller. Adam Kauppi and Matt Caria recorded assists for the Thunderbirds.
The teams will meet again on Saturday in Blind River beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Blind River Community Centre.
"We need to come out and play a full 60 minutes. Come Saturday, we're in Blind River playing on a Saturday night and where else would you want to be. It's our first road game in a tough environment and we'll see what we're made of," added Kovacs.
Elsewhere in the NOJHL on Wednesday, goaltender Matt George turned aside 32 to lead the Manitoulin Wild past the Sudbury Northern Wolves 4-2. The Wild improves to a perfect 3-0 while the Wolves remain winless at 0-4.
PHOTO: Overtime hero Jake McClelland battles with Beavers defenseman Shaun Siemers in front of the Blind River net. (All photos provided courtesy of Jim Egan)