Royals chopped down by Beavers

By Chris Dawson BayToday.ca

Sunday, November 29, 2009

 BLIND RIVER, ON. - The Temiscaming Royals started off strong with 2 goals in the first 41 seconds of the game but finished off poorly allowing 4 third period goals as the Blind River Beavers defeated the Royals 6-4 Saturday night.

 Robin Mendelsohn and Kelvin Blackned scored 8 seconds apart in the opening minute but Beavers newcomer Brad Pascall lit the lamp to make it 2-1 only 49 seconds into the game.

 The three goals themselves were scored within an span of 16 seconds. It stayed that way until midway through the second period when Justin Erhart scored a shorthanded marker to make it 2-2.

 The Beavers broke away with 3 early goals by Brett Findlay, David McCaig and Austin Bailey in the first 3 minutes of the third chasing Royals rookie netminder Francis Bernard who made 20 stops in the loss.

He was replaced by Erwin Bosum. Darren Shecapio brought the Royals within 2 to make it 5-3 but Drew McMillan restored the 3-goal lead less than three minutes later to make it 6-3 at the 9:51 mark of the third.

 Andre Leclair scored a powerplay marker in the final 5 minutes to make it a 6-4 final. The loss drops the Royals to 9-14-1 on the season and they have now lost 3 straight.

The Royals will finish off a busy western road swing Sunday night with a visit to the John Rhodes Community Centre to take on the Soo Thunderbirds.

Player Spotlight

BEAVERS ADD DEFENCEMAN

Birthday: Oct 26, 1990

Hometown: Athens, OH

Position: D

Height: 6' 3

Weight: 200

The Blind River Beavers are pleased to announce they have signed big 6'3" 195lbs. defenceman Duncan Green. Green was playing with the powerful South Shore Kings organization in the EJHL.

The Athens, Ohio native will make his debut tonight when the Beavers host the Temiscaming Royals.

"We are pleased to add Duncan to our roster at such a critical time. We have spent the past 3 weeks playing short staffed as a result of injuries and suspensions. He also brings much needed size to the Beaver roster", added Coach Capy.

Thunderbirds double up Beavers

By Brad Coccimiglio
SooToday.com
Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thibodeau shines as T-Birds win

Posted By PETER RUICCI, THE SAULT STAR

As his confidence has picked up, so has his scoring.

And Saturday in Blind River, Soo Thunderbirds winger Chad Thibodeau registered the first, two-goal game of his Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League career.

Thibodeau's efforts helped lead the T-Birds to a 4-1 victory over the Beavers.

Early in the second period, Thibodeau beat Beavers net-minder Chandler Long to open the scoring.

Later, with the score tied 1-1 early in the third period, Nicholas Romano, on the power play, and Thibodeau scored goals 1:07 apart.

"This feels great right now," said Thibodeau, a rookie who went 13 games before scoring his first NOJHL goal.

In his last eight games, he's tallied five times. The 16-year-old has also contributed 10 assists in 21 starts.

"It's great to contribute to a win," said Thibodeau, a Sault native, who was selected by the Soo Greyhounds in the seventh round of this year's Ontario Hockey League draft. "I'm starting to get more confidence with the puck and I'm releasing my shot quicker. This was the best game I've had all year."

"It took him a while to get going and it's nice to see him get two tonight (Saturday)," said T-Birds head coach Pat Carricato, whose club improved its Western Division-leading record to 14-6-1. "He's really picked up his scoring. We're using him on the point on the power play and he's helped us in that department."

Carricato thought his team was a little sloppy in a scoreless opening period. He thought the Soo came on in the second frame and played well in the third.

"Overall, it was a good road game for us," said Carricato, whose club held a 41-34 edge in shots. "From the goaltending out, we played pretty well."

Ryan McDonald, who'd been struggling, allowed the Beavers just a second period power-play goal off the stick of Chad Richard.

"He made some big stops," Carricato said. "We needed that out of him and he needed it, too."

Justin Thomas had the other goal for the Soo, putting the game away with 3:14 to go in the final period.

Next action for the Thunderbirds is Wednesday, when they entertain the Beavers at 7:30 p. m. at the John Rhodes Community Centre.

The Blind River Beavers are pleased to announce the they have acquired the playing rights of goaltender Bobby Raine from the Villanova Knights of the OPJHL.

Raine will replace Tyler Lucente who has decided not to play any more.

The 1991 birth year goaltender was chosen last season to play in the OPJHL future stars game. Prior to playing for Villanova he played for the very successful Oakville "AAA" program.

" We are hoping that Bobby will come in and push Chandler. While Chandler has been outstanding for us he has shouldered a big load thus far and we would like to reduce that so he remains mentally tough", added Capy.

Raine will meet his new teammates Tuesday evening at practice.

Begin, Eskis skin Beavers

Posted By VINCENT MAN, THE DAILY PRESS

Posted 2 hours ago

The Blind River Beavers were not waiting on the Abitibi Eskimos, but they received a tip anyway. Three of them.

The Eskis tipped three shots for goals to skin the Beavers 5-3 at the Jus Jordan Arena on Saturday night.

All three of Marc-Alain Begin's goals were scored in the second period -- two of which were deflected into the net.

Joel Roy also scored for the Eskis in the second period and Josh Clancy had another tip-in in the third to hammer the final nail into the Beavers' coffin.

While many of his 21 goals this season have come from firing the puck past opposing goalies, Begin said he'll take them any way he can get them -- including deflections.

"After practice, (head coach Paul Gagne) gives us some time to work on that stuff," he said. "Me, (Felix Boutin) and Clancy practise everything from tip-ins, one-timers and clearings off the boards, so we get used to it.

 "A goal is a goal, but it's a different way to get it."

Matt Dozois had the first and final goals of the game for Blind River. Chad Richard also scored for the Beavers, who suffered their second loss in two nights.

The Eskis dominated the first period, but didn't have a goal to show for their 17 shots. Nearly all of the action in the first nine minutes took place within the Beavers' blue-line, but the visitors used the Eskis' aggressiveness to their advantage and struck for the first goal.

Right after Eski Maxime Pierre had his shot ring off the post, the Beavers advanced the puck for a 2-on-0 rush. Dozois elected to keep the puck and deked Eddie Davey with a backhanded shot up high.

Roy scored for the Eskis a minute into the second frame. Following Matt St. Jacques' faceoff victory, Roy's wrist shot found the net to even the contest.

The marker set off a flurry of offensive activity as three more goals were scored in the next 4:14. Richard had one for the Beavers, while Begin had his first two of the game -- one of them was a deflection from the side of the net, while the other was a tip-in right in front of goalie Alex Rennie.

Later in the period, he completed the hat trick by wheeling into the slot where he let go a sizzling wrist shot.

Clancy gave his team a three-goal advantage midway through the third. Dozois then struck again, but with two minutes remaining, the Beavers failed to pull any closer than two goals.

Begin had an assist on Clancy's goal to up his point total to a league-best 47. Linemates Clancy, Boutin and Begin racked up a total of 10 points in the game.

"We were getting shots on net (in the first period), but there was no traffic," Begin said. "With traffic, the goalie had trouble seeing, so that's how we got a couple of goals.

" While Abitibi's top line accounted for four goals, Gagne said each trio of forwards contributed in the victory.

 "To me, that was a clinic with the first line," he said. "They got the fans going with passing and their tic-tac-toes. And the other two lines, they played like (Friday night). They played great defensively.

 "The line of (Michel) Ouellet, (Cory) Marquardt and St. Pierre, they've been together only for a couple of games, so you have to give them credit."

The win gave the Eskis a 10-point lead over the second-place North Bay Trappers, which had a divisional tilt against the Sudbury Junior Wolves last night. Abitibi's success (16-0-2) to begin the season is something Gagne said he can't remember ever being a part of.

"We've faced the opposite side of it," he said. "Boutin and I were talking about this yesterday. In his first year we were 0-10 or 0-13 or something like that.

 "He was 16 years old when he got here and he's stayed with us. He brings class to the organization, he brings skills ... He's worked hard and he's delivering. Whatever he's put in, he's getting (what he deserves) now."

The Eskis have a pair of games on tap next weekend. On Saturday, they will play a home game in Timmins against the Trappers. The next night, they will visit the Temiscaming Royals.

NOJHL 3 STARS WEEK ENDING NOV. 8TH 

They may only have a single win to show for their efforts so far this year, but that hasn’t stopped a pair of Manitoulin Islanders’ forwards from catching our eye as the duo tops the NOJHL Three Stars of the Week for the week ending on Sunday, November 8th:

Brandon Ominika (Manitoulin) – The Isles dropped four straight games last week but Brandon Ominika and linemate Nathan MacLeod topped all NOJHL scorers with eight points apiece. A 20 year-old native of Wikwemikong, Ominika has chalked up 19 points in his first 13 games and appears to be a good bet to surpass his 31 point production of one year ago.

Matt Dozois (Blind River) – A playmaker through and through, Manotick (Ontario) native Matt Dozois has been a wonderful off-season acquisition for the Beavers, adding another six points to his season total last week. The 20 year old Blind River forward sits seventh in league scoring with 27 points, a total that includes a whopping 22 assists to date.

Jonathan Aubertin (North Bay) – An 8th round selection of the Sudbury Wolves in 2008, Jonathan Aubertin is feeling right at home in his rookie season of NOJHL competition. The Hearst native picked up a goal and four assists in a pair of games last week, securing third place in team scoring with the North Bay Trappers.

TEMISCAMING, QC - The Temiscaming Royals earned their 7th victory of the season tonight by defeating the visiting Blind River Beavers by the score of 5-2. The Royals had a couple new players in the lineup as a result of a trade made with the S.I.J.H.L. Fort William North Stars. Coming to the Royals were forward Alex Cooper and defenseman Josh Blacksmith, both formerly of the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves Midget AAA program. In return the Royals traded away Stephan Gunner and Rylan Henley. Both Gunner and Henley were in their third seasons with the Royals going back to the days in the GMHL.

The Royals opened the scoring at the 6:44 mark with Axel Bousquet getting his first of the season. That was the only scoring in the first period. The second period wasn't 2 minutes old when the Beavers tied the score as Brett Campbell scored on deflection beating Royals goalie Erwin Bosum. About halfway through the second Andre Leclair gave the Royals the lead for the second time with his seventh of the season. But less than five minutes later, Andrew Trecroce tied the score on a breakaway. The second period ended in a 2-2 tie.

After a Beavers penalty just 17 seconds into the third - on the Royals' power play - newcomer Josh Blacksmith put one past Chandler Long. Alex Cooper the other new arrival earned an assist on the goal. Two minutes later, the Royals made it 4-2 when Chris Hebert banged in a rebound.

With about 90 seconds left in the game, Blind River pulled their goalie for an extra attacker but Andre Leclair put an end to the game with an empty netter.

A total of 12 minor penalties were called with the Beavers taking seven. Shots were 30-27 Beavers,

Robin Mendelsohn had a pair of assists as did Kelvin Blackned and Cedric Boutin.

Erwin Bosum earned the victory and the first star and Chandler Long was tagged for the loss. The other game stars were Axel Bousquet and Chris Hebert.

The Royals next game is Sunday evening 7:00 p.m. against the Manitoulin Islanders at Wikwemikong.

Submitted to BayToday.ca

Former high school standouts making the grade in Blind River

Dereck Hurley, Brett Campbell and Andrew Trecroce combined for 9 points in recent win

Posted By RANDY RUSSON

But rookie forwards Dereck Hurley, Brett Campbell and Andrew Trecroce of the Blind River Beavers have made what has been a successful leap to the NOJHL this season after being a part of high school hockey championship teams in '08-09.

Hurley and Campbell both skated with the Northern Ontario AAA champion Central Algoma Huskies last season while Trecroce was a member of the City, Northern Ontario AA and All Ontario AA champion St. Mary's Knights in '08-09.

Hurley and Campbell both skated with the Northern Ontario AAA champion Central Algoma Huskies last season while Trecroce was a member of the City, Northern Ontario AA and All Ontario AA champion St. Mary's Knights in '08-09.

"All three are outstanding players in their own right," said Jim Capy, the Blind River coach/general manager who recruited Hurley, Campbell and Trecroce for this edition of the Beavers, a young, hardworking team that currently sits in third place within the West Division of the NOJHL with a 7-6-5 record.

"Campbell has good size to go with a good skill set, Hurley is a quick skater with tremendous offensive upside and Trecroce is a solid two-way player. All three have adapted well to this level of hockey," added Capy.

The trio had their best game collectively as NOJHLers last Saturday, combining for nine points as the Beavers clipped the Manitoulin Islanders 10-3.

Trecroce had two goals and two assists in the win over Manitoulin while Campbell had a goal and two assists and Hurley scored once and set up another.

For the season, Hurley has six goals and five assists in 18 games, Campbell has three goals and eight assists in 18 games and Trecroce has three goals and two assists in just nine games, having missed nine contests with a shoulder injury.

While the local hockey school hockey league doesn't often get the credit it deserves, Capy is a big fan of the level of play.

"Having been a coach at the high school level myself, the league is often sold short but continues to produce good hockey players," Capy noted.

And Campbell, Hurley and Trecroce are three good examples.

Local boys step up for Trappers

Posted By Ken Pagan, The Nugget

Midget Trappers graduate Darnell Koosees scored his first junior goal, fellow midget grad Adam Marceau notched his third goal and midget/high school product Mat Pepin put up his third two-point night in the past seven games as the Trappers skated to a 7-4 win over the Blind River Beavers.

Dan Zawacki scored twice to lead the Trappers (12-7-0), while Stan Smrke and Brodie Barron, with a highlight-reel beauty, added the other goals in front of an announced 880 fans at Memorial Gardens.

Justin Erhart, Drew MacMillan, Cody Edwards and Jeff Lobman replied for the Beavers (7-6-5 ), who were tied 2-2 after the opening period before the Trappers built a 5-2 lead in the second.

Pepin was named the game's third star and local boy Nick Laporte had two assists before he was tossed for a second-period scrap with the Beavers' Chad Richard.

Trappers head coach Ian Swalucynski was pleased to see some of the local boys step up and contribute.

"Adam Marceau and Koosees had the same disease — they thought the puck was a grenade and they didn't want to handle it — but tonight they did, and they made good things happen," Swalucynski said.

"Pepin is at his best when he gets under your skin and he seems to do that to everybody we play and that's what I've told him to do — make sure you're under everybody's skin and you're whacking and hacking, letting everybody know who No. 8 is. He's doing that more and more now as he's getting in shape.

Swalucynski is counting on some of the team's other rookies to "turn the corner" and gain some confidence as well.

"If we can get those guys going, especially Marceau and Koosees, that will help us out in the long run."

Koosees, who moved to North Bay from Kashechewan at age 14, scored his first career junior goal late in the second period, gathering a puck in the slot and roofing it over the glove of Blind River goalie Chandler Long. Teammates immediately gathered the puck as a memento and the goal turned out to be the game-winner.

"I'm starting to feel more comfortable with my game. I'm just working harder on my speed and agility, so I can try and stay in the lineup."

The Trappers outshot the Beavers 38-23, with Trappers goalie Michael Mitchell making 19 saves for the win.

Swalucynski said it was a good response from his team after a 6-3 loss in Temiscaming, Friday.

"I thought we played about 56 minutes — we let some stuff happen at the end when we weren't as focused as we should be, but that's the best effort we've had in awhile around here," he said. "The guys in the room said it feels good to have a team effort and it does."

The Trappers host a big game Friday, with the first-place Abitibi Eskimos (13-0-2) visiting Memorial Gardens at 7:30

The Blind River Beavers are pleased to announce that they have acquired forward Brad Pascall from the Chatham Maroons of the GOJHL for a player to be named later. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario native had 7 points in 13 games with the Maroons.

Last season Pascall played for the Soo North Stars in the GNML and was one of the league's premier forwards.

"We are pleased to acquire a talented, young forward like Brad.", said Capy.  " He fits in with what we are trying to do here in Blind River."

"While he is a 92 birth year we think he can make an immediate impact", added Capy.

Pascall will play his first game Nov 7th in Blind River as the Beavers host Manitoulin.

THE SKINNY ON PASCALL

Posted By RANDY RUSSON/RR MEDIA SERVICE

Posted 1 day ago

Saturday's 5-4 Beavers win over the Eagles reversed the outcome from the first two times the teams had met this season. In both of those games, the Eagles needed extra time to edge the Beavers by identical 5-4 scores.

Matt Dozois was the hero as Blind River finally exorcised its demons with Saturday's triumph over the Michigan Soo. Dozois scored twice, including the OT winner, to lift the Beavers to victory.

Dereck Hurley, Kyle Paat and Chad Richard also scored for Blind River, which got 42 saves from Chandler Long in the win.

Justin Scott with a pair, Kyle Slicker and Jimmy Morris replied for the Eagles, who were stunned 6-2 by the previously-winless Manitoulin Islanders on Friday night. Clayton Brackett and Jordan Crews scored for the Eagles in the loss to Manitoulin, which got a pair of goals from Nathan MacLeod.

The Eagles visit Manitoulin again this Friday before playing host to the Sudbury Jr. Wolves on Saturday night in a 7:00 start at Pullar Stadium.

Entering play this week the Eagles have 21 points from a 10-3-1 record, two points behind the West Division leading Soo Thunderbirds who have 23 points from 11-4-1 record. The Eagles have two games in hand on the Thunderbirds.

Blind River is in third place in the West with 17 points from a 6-5-5 record.

By SooToday Staff

 SooToday.com

 Wednesday, October 28, 2009

NEWS RELEASE NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE

 *********************** A relatively quiet week in the NOJHL with just six games contested last week. As such, the NOJHL Three Stars of the Week were, not surprisingly, very closely bunched in terms of scoring as no single player recorded more than five points.

 ANDRE LECLAIR (Temiscaming) – Making the move from the Greater Metro Hockey League to the NOJHL this year, Coniston native Andre Leclair is getting used to his new surroundings. The Temiscaming Royals’ forward picked up five points in a pair of games, moving into third place in team scoring with 14 points in 11 games. The 19 year old smooth skating sniper led the GMHL in scoring last year, tallying 110 points in just 41 games. The Royals sit in fourth place in the Eastern Division, trailing the Sudbury Kal Tire Jr Wolves by three points.

TYLER ARPS (Sudbury) – A former defenseman with the Sudbury Wolves (OHL), Thunder Bay native Tyler Arps is taking nicely to a shift to forward with the Jr Wolves. In a pair of games last week, Arps scored twice and added an equal number of assists, cracking the NOJHL Top 25 scorers. At 6’5”, the 20 year old is an imposing presence in front of opposition netminders, chalking up points in tight with regularity. A veteran of more than 70 games in the Ontario Hockey League, Arps has moved into fourth place in team scoring, registering 15 points in 14 games.

BRETT FINDLAY (Blind River) – Brett Findlay is celebrating his 17th birthday this October in style, racing up the NOJHL scoring parade. A graduate of the Cambrian Nissan “AA” Midget team in Sault Ste Marie, Findlay added another four points to his season total last week, leaving him with 23 points in 15 games. Those totals are good enough to find the Echo Bay native ranked third in league scoring, trailing only the Abitibi Eskimos’ high flying duo of Marc-Alain Begin and Felix Boutin.

Check out tonight's Hockey North Show hosted by Randy Russon and Kevin Cain live from Blind River's own RIVERSIDE BAR. Tonight special guests will include Beaver goaltender Chandler Long and defenceman Grant Paulson. Click on logo and listen to all things NOJHL!

Note: Show will be in the Archives section tomorrow morning. Go to other archived shows and listen to previous interviews with Coach Capy and Beaver players Jeff Lobman and Andrew Trecroce.

By SooToday Staff/SooToday.com

Monday, October 26, 2009

NEWS RELEASE: SOO EAGLES

Brian Depp scored the only goal of the shootout and the Soo Eagles won their sixth straight game, a 5-4 overtime victory over the Blind River Beavers on Sunday afternoon at the Pullar Stadium.

 The win improved the Eagles record to 10-2, good for 20 points and a share of first place with the Soo Thunderbirds in the West Division of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League. The Eagles have two games in hand on the Thunderbirds, who have a 10-4 record.

Trailing 3-2 after two periods on Sunday, the Eagles rallied and went ahead 4-3 on goals by Ryan McAleese and Jacob Johnston before Blind River's Justin Erhart tied the game with a shorthanded marker with just over four minutes to play in regulation.

Justin Scott and Kyle Slicker scored earlier goals for the Eagles. Erhart with a pair, Kyle Paat and Brett Findlay also scored for Blind River.

Goalie Clayton Brown, making only his second start of the season, made 39 saves in the Eagles net, while Chandler Long stopped 32 pucks for Blind River.

Rookie forward Justin Erhart had a productive weekend for the Beavers. Saturday night against Sudbury he scored 1 goal and was chosen 2nd star. He bettered that in Soo, Michigan on Sunday vs the Eagles where he talled two goals while been selected 2nd star again.

The 3 goal weekend ties him for the team lead with Drew MacMillan at 8.

Erhart's 2nd goal on Sunday was the Beavers first short-handed goal of the season.

"We had high expectations for Justin coming into the season.  We believe that he can be an elite player in this league sooner than later.  Over the last several games he has begun to show us his tremendous potential", added Coach Capy.

Sunday's loss was the Beavers 4th loss in the shootout this season.  Fifteen games into the season, the Beavers have been involved in 5 shootout games and 1 overtime game. 

The Beavers next action will be a rematch with the 1st place Eagles Saturday night in Blind River. Start time is 7:30 p.m.

BLIND RIVER, ON. - Brodie Barron scored 3 times - all in the 3rd period - to lead the North Bay Jr. A Trappers to a 8-5 victory over the Blind River Beavers on Saturday night.

The Trappers took over a close game with 4 unanswered goals in the 3rd period to break open a tight 5-4 game after 40 minutes.

“The guys were confident in the third and our veterans stood up and said what we had to do and we did it - Get it deep and grind it out," said Jr. A Trappers head coach Ian Swalucynski.

Morgan Rudiger had 2 goals of his own for the Trappers. Dan Zawacki, Mat Pepin and Jonathon Aubertin had the other goals.

Brett Findlay had 2 goals for the Beavers. Other goal scorers were Grant Paulson, David McCaig and Chad Richard.

With the win the Jr. A Trappers improve to 9-4 on the season.

Michael Mitchell got the win in relief of newcomer netminder Alex Clark who allowed 5 goals on 16 shots in the opening 40 minutes.

The Trappers are back home Sunday to host the Soo Eagles. Game time is 7 p.m. at Memorial Gardens.

Beaver Bites:

The Beavers fall to 4-5-4 with the loss and remain in 3rd spot in the West.

Beavers next action is Saturday night when they host  Sudbury for a 7:30 P.M. start.Sunday the Beavers travel to Soo, Michigan to face the Eagles in a 2 p.m. matinee.

With Brett Findley's 3 point night against the Trappers he now leads the Beavers in scoring with a 6-13-19 line.

 By Brad Coccimiglio

 SooToday.com

Thursday, October 15, 2009

The Soo Thunderbirds got all they could handle from the Blind River Beavers on Wednesday night.

The Thunderbirds defeated the Beavers 2-1 in a shootout Wednesday night at the John Rhodes Community Centre.

 “(Blind River) worked their tails off and I thought we worked our tails off,” said Thunderbirds coach Pat Carricato. “I wasn’t happy with a seven or eight minute span in the third period before I called the timeout. We were running around and we were panicking.”

Beavers coach Jim Capy was equally pleased with the effort of his team, despite the loss.

 “That was probably the best game we’ve played all season from start to finish,” said Capy. “We played hard and got better in a lot of different areas that we needed to get better in. It went right down to the last shooter. I can’t ask for anything more. We’re getting better and better. We need to find a way to finish. This was our third shootout loss. We’ve got an overtime loss and a 3-2 loss. As far as being right there, we’re there, we just have to find a way to win the close games.”

 The two teams traded first period goals as Aaron Ross scored his fourth goal of the season for the Thunderbirds to open the scoring. Sault native Corey Jackson tied the game just over five minutes later.

 From then on it was a tale of the goaltenders. Thunderbirds goaltender Ryan McDonald stopped 25 shots in the win while Chandler Long stopped 33 shots before giving up the shootout winner to Jerry Petingalo.

“It was a goaltender’s duel tonight,” said Carricato. “Both goalies stood on their heads. To Ryan (McDonald)’s credit, I pulled him last game and he came back and had a great game and he matched Long. I was very pleased with the way he played and he gave us a chance to win.”

By Chris Dawson

 BayToday.ca

Saturday, October 10, 2009

 BLIND RIVER, ON. - Playing in their second game in as many nights, the Temiscaming Royals came from behind in the third period to force an extra period and then win in a shoot-out against the Blind River Beavers 5-4. The first period saw both teams score three goals apiece as defense was not the rule in the first 20 minutes. Darren Shecapio, Cedric Boutin & Stephan Gunner scored for the Royals while Grant Paulson, Cody Edwards and Justin Erhart replied for the Beavers.

The second period saw the Beavers take a 4-3 lead on a power play goal from Dereck Hurley. The score remained in favor of the home town Beavers until on a Royals power play, Stephan Gunner, with his second of the game tied the score.

The teams played the rest of the third scoreless and an extra five minute ovetime period set the stage for the deciding shoot-out. Robin Mendelsohn got the game winner for the Royals (4-6-1) who will finish their three game, three day road trip with a game Sunday evening against the Soo Thunderbirds.

 The Royals outshot the Beavers 54-40. The 3 stars were Gunner, Mendelsohn and Matt Dozois (BR).

The Blind River Beavers jumped out to a 4-0 lead and hung on for a 4-3 victory over the Sault Ste. Marie Thunderbirds in Blind River on Saturday.

Goals by Justin Thomas, Bronson Kovacs and James Delayer in the last ten minutes of regulation time drew the T-birds to within one goal late in the game, but Beaver goalie Chandler Long turned aside any last-minute heroics by the Soo squad.

Justin Erhart, Chad Richard, Drew MacMillan and Dereck Hurley scored for the Beavers, who led 2-0 after the first period and 4-0 midway through the third period.

The T-birds out-shot the Beavers 42-21 during the contest. Click here for a complete game summary.

Check out our Albums section for some more pictures from the game.

Article by Kelly James

Pictures by Reg Clark

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