The Soo Thunderbirds returned to game action on Saturday evening, and the return was slightly ahead of schedule.
With injuries depleting the roster, the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League and the team announced the postponement of a recent game against the Soo (Mich.) Eagles.
The league had initially marked four other games, including one scheduled for Saturday against the Blind River Beavers in Blind River, as postponed, but the Thunderbirds returned to play in Blind River Saturday.
And they did so with a full lineup.
A goal by Blind River’s Daniel Vasic just over seven minutes into the third period was the game winner as the Beavers picked up a 4-2 win over the Thunderbirds at the Blind River Community Centre.
Vasic finished the night with a goal and an assist in the win.
Michael Gallagher, Jesse Dupuis, and Evan Fraccaro also scored for Blind River.
Goaltender Noah Tegelaar stopped 21 shots for the Beavers.
At the other end, Thunderbirds goaltender Kolton Bourret stopped 28 shots.
James Legler had a goal and an assist for the Thunderbirds while Grayson Ebrahim also had a two-point night with a pair of assists.
Jacob Smith had the other goal for the Thunderbirds.
Blind River, winners of 10 straight games, improves to 24-8-0-0 with the win and sits four points behind the Greater Sudbury Cubs for top spot in the NOJHL’s West Division and have a pair of games in hand.
The Beavers now have some much-needed time off after playing five times since Dec. 1. The Beavers next game is a road matchup with the Thunderbirds on Dec. 15 against the Thunderbirds at the John Rhodes Community Centre.
The Thunderbirds have dropped three in a row but hold a record of 16-8-2-1 on the season.
The team is fifth in the West Division, three points behind the Espanola Paper Kings and six behind the Eagles. The Thunderbirds have games in hand on all four teams ahead of them in the divisional standings, including five on the Paper Kings, and four on the Eagles.
Next up for the Thunderbirds is a Sunday afternoon contest against the Elliot Lake Vikings at the John Rhodes Community Centre. It’s the first of back-to-back meetings between the two clubs, who will meet again on Wednesday night in Massey.