FRENCH RIVER – Luc Warner notched his first three Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League goals Saturday in helping propel the Espanola Paper Kings to a 10-0 humbling of the French River Rapids at Noelville Arena.
Wasting little time, Espanola scored on the first shot of the game as Matthew Spencer blasted in his initial NOJHL tally with a drive from the slot that eluded French River starter Matis Bureau-Morel after being set-up from below the goal line by Noah Logan, just 25 seconds into the match-up.
More from the visitors at 14:58 saw Warner record his opening NOJHL goal as he roofed a rising wrister from the right side on Bureau-Morel.
Tacking on a pair of shorthanded tallies midway through the second period, the Paper Kings took control of the game, beginning with a Carter Drigo effort from in close.
Coming right back, the guests clicked again as Warren Farver snagged a turnover then fired a pass across to Warner, who wired in his second of the evening.
More from Espanola saw Farver lift one in from distance on a delayed penalty to make it 5-0 and seeing Keiran Caughran entering in relief in net for the Rapids.
The Paper Kings kept coming as they picked up a sixth on the night compliments of Cameron Menard’s league-leading 19th at 19:15 as he elected to shoot and converted on a two-on-one.
In the final stanza, a seventh moments into a man advantage, saw Joseph Coates tip in a Wyatt Farries point shot.
Another power play marker made it 8-0 as Coates teed up Warner to hammer in his hat trick.
A third-straight extra-man effort added to the one-sided romp off the stick of Callum Millar before Menard picked up his 20th to round out the scoring.
The shutout for Espanola’s Jack Helkie was his second of the season, which leads all league stoppers.
