NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
NOJHL NETWORK MEDIA UPDATE
Release Date: Thursday, March 23, 2017
Ton the hero as Rayside-Balfour evens series with Blind River
CHELMSFORD, Ont. – Cayse Ton’s third goal of the game, coming with just six seconds remaining in regulation, was the stunning game-winner as the Rayside-Balfour Canadians pulled out a dramatic 3-2 victory over the Blind River Beavers Thursday in Game 4 of their Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League West Division semifinal at Chelmsford Arena.
That means this best-of-seven series is now tied 2-2 heading into Game 5 Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Blind River Community Centre.
The first power play of the night saw Blind River capitalize as Jordan Kreller connected during the man advantage 6:24 into the contest.
After being named the NOJHL’s RBC scholastic player of the year earlier in the day, Ton continued to show he’s as equally skilled on the ice as well by pulling the Canadians level 91 seconds into the middle stanza with his initial tally of the evening.
Zak Lambrecht connected on the power play however at 5:06 to put the Beavers back in front.
Up a man themselves later in the frame, Ton picked up his second of the session at 15:21 to knot the affair at 2-2 after two.
Then with overtime looming and following a faceoff deep in Blind River territory, Ton capped off his tremendous night by corralling the puck in the slot while spinning in a crowd and snapping the winner past Beavers’ netminder Aidan Doak to cap off the amazing win.
Matthew Neault dished out assists on the final two Rayside-Balfour goals to aid their offensive cause.
Owen Johansson made 29 saves to record the win for the Canadians while Aidan Doak faced 40 shots while suffering the setback for Blind River.
All NOJHL playoff games are streamed online at HockeyTV.com.
West Division semifinal
No. 2 Blind River Beavers vs. No. 3 Rayside-Balfour Canadians
Best-of-seven series tied 2-2
Game 1: Blind River 6 Rayside-Balfour 2
Game 2: Blind River 6 Rayside-Balfour 3
Game 3: Rayside-Balfour 4 Blind River 3 (OT)
Game 4: Rayside-Balfour 3 Blind River 2
Game 5: Saturday, March 25 @ Blind River 7:30 p.m. (Community Centre)
Game 6: Sunday, March 26 @ Rayside-Balfour 6:30 p.m. (Chelmsford)
Game 7*: Tuesday, March 28 @ Blind River 7 p.m. (Community Centre)
*- if necessary
Photos courtesy of sudburylight.ca
