The Soo Thunderbirds opened the regional championships on a losing note Tuesday afternoon.
The Aurora Tigers broke a 1-1 tie with two goals in the second period to defeat the Thunderbirds 3-1 in the opening game of the Dudley-Hewitt Cup, symbolic of the Central Canadian Jr. A Championship, in North Bay.
Aurora, the Ontario Provincial Jr. A Hockey League champion, grabbed a 1-0 lead with 30 seconds remaining in the first period on a goal by Sam Skwarchuk.
Alex Butkus quickly answered with a goal 42 seconds into the second period for the Soo to tie the game at 1-1.
The Tigers would then add two more goals in the period at 7:36 by Sean Scully and at 15:19 by Francis Walker to secure the 3-1 win.
The Thunderbirds return to action in the four-team tournament on Wednesday night against the hometown and Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League champion North Bay Skyhawks at 7:30 p.m.
In the other game on Tuesday, the Skyhawks broke a 4-4 tie with the lone third period goal to secure a 5-4 win over the Superior International Junior Hockey League champion Fort William First Nation Stars.
Tyler Eady led the Skyhawks with two goals while singles went to Kyle VanGroningan, Pat Power and David Frawley. Ryan Baird, Albert Kavanaugh, Andrew Fernandez and Steve Atkins replied with a goal each for the Stars.
In the Wednesday afternoon game, Aurora will meet Fort William at 3 p.m.
The second and third place teams after the round robin will square off in the semi-final game on Friday with the winner advancing into Saturday's final against the first place team.
The Dudley-Hewitt Cup champion will advance to national championship Royal Bank Cup May 8-16 in Grande Prairie, Alberta.
*** STANDINGS:
(wins losses-ties-points)
North Bay 1-0-0-2 Aurora 1-0-0-2 Fort William 0-1-0-0 Soo Thunderbirds 0-1-0-0