Soo T-Birds ready for battle at national playoff
Soo T-Birds ready for battle at national playoff
The champions of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League play the best Canadian junior ‘ A ‘ hockey teams in Estevan, Saskatchewan.
Just a week after winning the NOJHL championship, the Soo Thunderbirds are now in Estevan, Sk. for the Centennial Cup.
“There was no Dudley Hewitt Cup, the Central Canadian Junior A Championship, this year. So this is great that the winner of the NOJHL goes directly to the Centennial Cup,” said Rob Mazzuca, NOJHL Commissioner.
“The Soo Thunderbirds are a terrific team. They reeled off 26-straight wins at one point.”
The T-Birds faced an uphill battle in the NOJHL final, losing the first three games, before coming back to win four consecutive games against the Hearst Lumberjacks.
“They had an incredible five weeks,” said Mazzucca.
“They had hot goaltending, and that’s what you need to get to the nationals, and the T-birds got that. It’s probably the hardest fought series I’ve seen in 11 years.”
Mazzuca said the Thunderbirds are a resilient team. And, he believes they stack up well against the competition at the national level.
“They knew what it would take to win, and kept on going against Hearst. This is going to be a great event for the T-Birds because this is a short-term tournament.”
“By the way, the Soo is the youngest team at this tournament and they’re going to have fun.” said Mazzuca
As to who might win the Centennial Cup?
“The Soo Thunderbirds rank in the top 20 in the country, but the odds on favourite is the Brook Bandits from Alberta, and then you have the Summerside Western Capitals from Prince Edward Island.“
The Soo Thunderbirds lost their first game Thursday against the Flin Flon Bombers by a score of 6-1.
The T-Birds play the Summerside Western Capitals from PEI Friday at 6 P.M.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Poilievre will do 'anything to win,' must condemn Alex Jones endorsement: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is ramping up his attacks on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as he promotes his government's federal budget.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Ottawa injects another $36M into fund for those seriously injured or killed by vaccines
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Video shows suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
Ex-SNC executive sentenced to prison term in bridge bribery case
The RCMP says a former SNC-Lavalin executive has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison in connection with a bribery scheme for a bridge repair contract in Montreal.
What Canadians think of the latest Liberal budget
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.