ESPANOLA, Ont. – The Espanola Paper Kings put on a dominant display Friday in crushing the Blind River Beavers 9-0 Friday in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League at the Regional Recreation Complex, in the season-opening games for each club.
Despite the high score, Paper Kings’ starter Jack Helkie was solid and unbeatable throughout in registering his initial NOJHL shutout.
Needing just 95 seconds to notch his first NOJHL goal, Joseph Coates gave Espanola the early edge as he neatly steered in a Carter Drigo pass on a two-on-one into the open side on Blind River netminder Connor Dunham-Fox.
Adding another in the opening frame, Drigo was spotted alone in the left circle from behind the net and proceeded to roof a shot upstairs to make it 2-0.
Heading to the middle stanza, another from Coates extended the home side’s cushion when he was spotted by Cameron Menard splitting the defence and went in alone where he made a couple of nifty dekes before sliding the puck in.
Tacking on two more in the middle session as Warren Farver finished off another Menard feed and Nicholas Arbour jammed in a goal-mouth chance, both connected in their NOJHL debuts as the hosts carried a 5-0 lead into the second intermission.
Blowing it open in the third, Menard while shorthanded; Callum Millar, with a wrister from the left circle; Ashton Pitawanakwat, who converted off a turnover and Cain Savage wiring one short-side off the post and in during an odd-man rush, capped off the one-sided result.
Both teams play again Saturday as Espanola entertains the Hearst Lumberjacks while Blind River will host the French River Rapids in a pair of 7 p.m. starts and on FLOHockey.tv.
