SUDBURY, Ont. – Play in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League’s preseason concluded Monday evening following a 5-1 victory by the French River Rapids over the Blind River Beavers at Noelville Arena.
French River were quick to gain an early edge when Tristan Kitchen scored just 19 seconds into the matchup.
Busting it open, in the middle stanza, the Rapids banged in a trio of tallies, including two on the power play, to take a 4-0 lead after 40 minutes of on-ice action.
Finding the back of the net in the session for the home side were Jack Wilson, Jack Ferras and Bryson Villeneuve.
Dashing the shutout bid of French River goalkeeper Keiran Bureau-Morel, Blind River’s Hurst Leighton converted on a man advantage with 1:49 remaining in regulation before the Rapids’ Ralph Coulis iced it with a late empty netter from distance to round out the scoring.
The focus now shifts to the start of the 2025-26 NOJHL regular season, which begins Thursday as the Timmins Rock visits the Greater Sudbury Cubs in a 7:10 p.m. start at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.
All league games will also be streamed live of FLOHockey.tv, the league’s official online broadcast partner.
