Photos: Chelsea Solomon
ESPANOLA, Ont. – Alexander Tingay tallied twice to help propel the Blind River Beavers past the Espanola Express 5-2 in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League meeting Friday at the Regional Recreation Complex.
An early power play helped Blind River get on the board, six minutes into the match-up, as Evan Fraccaro jammed in the rebound off a Caleb Minns attempt from the right side.
Espanola did draw level, moments into a man advantage of their own, with Alexander Christopoulos picking up his fourth goal of the season by backhanding one through the legs of Beavers’ netminder Gavin Disano, following a shot by Atley Gringorten.
However, Blind River answered quickly by tallying twice, just 21 seconds apart, to put the guests up by a pair heading into the intermission on markers from Jesse Dupuis and Tingay.
Tingay tacked on his second of the night, early into a power play in the middle session, as he put one from up high through a maze in front to make it 4-1 for the guests at 2:17 of the middle stanza.
A chance to go up by four was thwarted by Express goaltender Matthew Loney as he foiled Blind River’s Fraccaro on a penalty shot at 8:53.
Moving closer after that, the home side got one back as Ty McHutchion sent a crisp cross-crease feed over to Gringorten, who shovelled in his sixth of the year for Espanola.
It stayed 4-2 for the visitors until late in regulation when the Beavers’ Jacob Kovacs iced it with a shorthanded, empty net, effort in the final minute to help secure the victory.
Disano picked up the win while Loney suffered the defeat.
