NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
NOJHL COMMUNICATIONS
MEDIA UPDATE
Release Date: Saturday, March 1, 2014
Plenty of goals in the NOJHL Saturday
SUDBURY – There was plenty of offensive production in the two games on the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League slate Saturday night with the four competing sides combining for 29 goals being scored as the Abitibi Eskimos outlasted the Espanola Rivermen 9-6 while the Blind River Beavers beat the North Bay Trappers 9-5.
ABITIBI ESKIMOS 9 ESPANOLA RIVERMEN 6 – Abitibi moved past Espanola back into third place in the NOJHL standings in the high-scoring affair at Jus Jordan Arena.
Erik Robichaud opened the scoring for the Eskimos 6:46 into the opening period only to see Brennen Dubchak tie it for the Rivermen less than a minute later.
Not to be deterred Abitibi struck for three more markers before the opening frame was complete on efforts supplied by Ryan Tront, Zach Innes and Brennen Roy, who scored on the power play.
Espanola pulled back to within one early in the second getting quick man advantage goals courtesy of Brad Edwards and Nathan Campbell.
The Eskimos then sandwiched tallies by Brenden Locke and Ryan Wildman around one by from Corbin Bean of the Rivermen to make it a 6-4 game for the home side through two periods of play.
Five more markers were provided in the final period, including three more by Abitibi.
After Shane Hiley made it 7-4 on the power play, Matthew Busby and Campbell brought the visitors back to within one with three and a half minutes to go.
The Eskimos would eventually prevail however adding late efforts from Locke as well as Robichaud, into the empty net, to round things out.
Brody Wagner saw all but half a minute of action to pick up the win making 45 stops on the evening.
William Kings had 33 shots against in defeat.
BLIND RIVER BEAVERS 9 NORTH BAY TRAPPERS 5 – At the Blind River Community Centre the hometown Beavers got four goals and an assist from Tim Perks to help pace them past visiting North Bay.
Blind River jumped out to a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes on tallies by Tyson MacLeod, Perks, Liam Finn and Jacob Boisvenue with Chance Thomas adding a power play marker for the Trappers.
The hosts extended their cushion to 7-2 after 40 minutes as Perks found the back of the net three times and Ryan Demyen connecting for North Bay.
In the third Jacob Zarzycki made 8-2 before Kyle Baril struck for two shorthanded goals in short order to pull the Trappers closers.
The two sides then rounded out the scoring with a tally each with Darian Skeoch picking up one the Trappers and Zarzycki again for the Beavers.
Brett Cooke and Vinny Barra had a trio of assists apiece for Blind River.
Shots on goal favoured the Beavers 49-41 with Jessie Morin picking up the win in a game that saw Lucas Paulsen and Evan Cormier both seeing action in the loss.
Three more tilts go Sunday as Blind River entertains Elliot Lake at 6 p.m. followed by Espanola taking on North Bay in Mattawa at 7 p.m. and Kirkland Lake at home to Abitibi at 7:30 p.m.