Photos: Hélène Rancourt
BLIND RIVER, Ont. – Needing a win to help remain in playoff contention, the Blind River Beavers got a couple of goals apiece from James Lin; Ryder Hill and Camden Cowan as part of a 6-3 result over the French River Rapids Saturday in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League matchup at the Blind River Community Centre.
It was the Beavers who began the scoring past the five-minute mark of the first period when Lin was sent ahead on a pass from Patrice Lafontaine and while driving down the left wing, snapped a shot from the left circle past Rapids’ netminder Ethan Madden.
Notching another later in the session, while on the power play, Cowan swatted in his 14th of the season after a deflection off a Mattis Lafond attempt found its way to him on the right side, that he eventually buried.
Heading to the second stanza, the home side went up by three halfway through the evening as Hill moved down the right wing and wired one past Madden.
More from the hosts saw Hill make it 4-0 as he banked one in from below the goal line.
That resulted in Matis Bureau-Morel entering in relief for French River.
The Beavers kept coming though as Lin upped the lead to five with his second of the evening by spinning and lifting one upstairs.
Putting the Rapids on the board, while on a man advantage late in the frame, Ryder Tracy neatly redirected in a Jonah Gareau blast past Blind River’s Justin Sullivan.
In the third, the visitors picked up another off a dump-in by Gareau that Tristan Kitchen got a hold of and knocked in from in close.
A third straight marker from French River saw Nolan McVeigh get the last touch on a play that was put in off the end boards by a Beavers’ player and bounced out and hit off Sullivan and in at 16:06.
Cowan then got one more for Blind River to close out the scoring.
With the victory, the Beavers stay in the hunt for the eighth and final playoff spot as they improved to 15-29-0-4.
