By Matt Stefano
Saturday marked the final game of the T-Birds 2014-2015 regular season as they travelled to Blind River to take on the winless Beavers. It also marked a milestone for second year forward Brett Jeffries who was suiting up in his 100th career game.
Matt Caruso put the Soo up 1-0 at 4:10 into the first with his 12th from Nick Sicoly. Caruso’s second of the night and 13th of the season at 13:53 from Owen Headrick and Caleb Boman put the Soo up by two. Joey Miller’s 15th from Eric Hillock and Andrew Barbeau made it 3-0. Jaren Bellini’s 32nd from Brett Jeffries made it 4-0 at 16:13, before Matt Mitchell’s 7th from Nick Tassone and Owen Headrick at 17:38 made it a 5-0 game through one.
Brett Jeffries 20th from Owen Headrick made it 6-0 just 1:41 into the second. Fourteen seconds later, it would be Nick Tassone getting his 32nd from Matt Pinder and Joey Miller, before Joey Miller’s power play goal and second of the game at 5:12 put the Soo up 8-0 after two from Brett Jeffries and Matt Busby.
At 3:43 into the third, Caleb Boman’s 9th goal of the season broke the T-Birds record for most goals by a rookie defenseman, giving the Soo a 9-0 lead. The Soo would then hit double digits for the fifth time this season and fifth against the Beavers, courtesy of Nick Tassone’s 18th from Eric Hillock at 4:23. Connor Dea’s 2nd from Matt Pinder and Anthony Miller at 6:52 rounded out the scoring as the T-Birds blank the Blind River Beavers 11-0 at the Blind River Community Centre. The Thunderbirds end the 2014-2015 regular season with a record of 38 wins, 7 losses, 1 tie, 6 overtime losses and 83 points.
Brian Kment made 22 saves for his 2nd shutout of the season and 4th in his career.
With the Soo finishing first overall in the NOJHL standings for the second straight year and fifth time in franchise history, they will now begin game 1 of the West Division semifinal on Thursday, March 12th vs Blind River at the Rhodes.
