CHELMSFORD, Ont. – A Nathan Engel goal in the latter stages of the second period proved to be the difference maker as the Blind River Beavers went on to a 5-3 victory over the Rayside-Balfour Canadians Thursday evening in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League action at Chelmsford Arena.
Blind River started strong by grabbing a 2-0 lead half way through the opening frame starting with an Andrew Warhoftig man advantage effort at 4:10 before Dante Cavaliere connected at even strength just part the midway point of the session.
Regrouping, Brady Maltias put Rayside-Balfour on the board with his 12th of the campaign at 12:13 before Benjamin Hatanaka tied it for the Canadians a couple shifts later.
Caleb Serre put the Beavers back in front 44 seconds into the middle stanza before Noah Serre drew Rayside-Balfour level once more with his club’s second power play tally of the evening, which came at 11:16.
Back and forth they went with Engel notching the eventual game-winner five minutes later as they guests carried the lead into the intermission.
The score stayed that way until late in regulation when Brendan Young helped secure the road with for the Beavers as he scored into an empty net at 19:21 to round out the night’s scoring.
Garret Boyonoski made 27 saves in the Beavers net to record the win while Sebastien Plamondon faced 34 shots in defeat for the Canadians.
With the outcome, Blind River moved into a tie with Rayside-Balfour in the NOJHL West standings with 45 points apiece, with the Beavers also holding a game in hand.
