File photo: Bob Davies
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – The first tie game in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League preseason play came about Saturday as the Soo Thunderbirds and Elliot Lake Vikings skated to a 4-4 overtime draw at John Rhodes Community Centre.
After a scoreless first period, the clubs notched six goals in the second stanza, including four by the Thunderbirds.
Connecting in the session for Sault Ste. Marie were Jacob Smith, Espen Escasa, Caleb Walker and Cooper Labelle.
Scoring for Elliot in the frame was Ivan Kedrov and Nate Dugwell.
Battling back in the third, Dugwell tacked on two more to tie it and force extra time.
In the seven-minute OT neither side would convert to decide a winner.
The Vikings were credited with outshooting the Thunderbirds by a 41-37 count.
Goaltenders Lincoln Melenthin of the Soo and the Vikings’ Brogan Colquhoun were solid between the pipes for their respective clubs.
The two teams return to the ice Sunday as the Thunderbirds take on the Espanola Paper Kings at 11 a.m., while the Vikings meet the Soo Eagles at 1 p.m.
