Photos: Voodooshockey.com
POWASSAN, Ont. – The Powassan Voodoos popped in four first period goals and never looked back while skating to an 8-2 victory over the French River Rapids in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League play Wednesday evening at the Powassan Sportsplex.
Taking flight just over a minute into the proceedings, the Voodoos’ broke out of their own zone in numbers and saw Cameron Lemcke lift a backhand to Rhys Smetham, who went in and fed Caden Dubreuil on a two-on-one that was whipped into the open corner on Rapids’ starter Brady Dyer.
Up a skater at 7:50, Mathieu MacMillan clicked on the power play as he took the puck off a face off win and cruised through the slot and sent a low attempt under Dyer from a sharp angle on the right side.
Smetham then joined Dubreuil and MacMillan with his second marker of the season when he tucked a chance through the pads of the French River netminder.
The home side then extended their lead into the first intermission, courtesy of Caleb Dawson, as he knocked in a loose puck from the left of the crease at 18:14.
With Elijah Grant entering the net Rapids’ net to begin the middle stanza, the Voodoos’ Alexander Case greeted him as he jumped in from the point and zipped in his initial league tally off a wrap around attempt from a falling Owen Smetham.
Adding a sixth on the night, MacMillan bagged another, during a man advantage, while sliding in the back door and firing a shot over a sprawling Grant.
On a power play themselves, French River put one by Powassan goaltender Tyson Wilcox, who was making his NOJHL debut, as Matthew Shulist cranked in a blast from the right circle after a Nolan Masson play hit off a skate and slid right to him, prior to wiring in his sixth goal of the campaign.
Rhys Smetham then found the range once more at 18:46 as he chipped in a close-range pass off the stick of Jaden Sturge.
The Rapids’ Masson made it 7-2 after 40 minutes while banging in a rebound from the top of crease in the later moments of the session.
Finishing off the scoring early in the third was the Voodoos’ Tucker Shields, who glided in on the left side and was left with plenty of net to shoot at as he ripped in his sixth of the season to cap off the result with the guests having a man in the box.
With the triumph, Powassan moves to 8-2-0-1 overall while French River dropped to 1-11-0-0.
