FRENCH RIVER – Carter Drigo tallied twice, including notching the eventual game-winner, as part of a 7-3 victory by the Espanola Paper Kings over the French River Rapids in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League play Sunday at Noelville Arena.
Finding their legs in the back-half of the opening frame, Espanola tallied three times in quick succession to gain the upper hand.
Callum Millar got the Paper Kings going at 12:33 when he slammed a down-low feed from Owen Smith off a defender and past Rapids’ starter Matis Bureau-Morel.
More from the visitors a minute and a half later saw Emerson De Giacomo strike shorthanded as he snapped in a rebound off a turnover generated by Graydon Guthrie.
Carter Mullen then made it 3-0 a couple of shifts later as he notched his initial NOJHL goal by finishing off a wraparound attempt from teammate Matthew Spencer.
Responding late in the first while down a skater themselves, Michael Morascyzk put the Rapids on the board at 19:12 as he picked off an errant pass from an Espanola defender and raced in alone before ripping one upstairs on netminder Logan Vale.
In the middle stanza, the Paper Kings went back up by three off a draw that led to Drigo whipping one in from distance through a screen from the left point, just over four minutes into the session.
Guthrie then made it 5-1 by pressuring a play ahead, which allowed him to race in on the left wing and wire a shot into the top right hand corner on Bureau-Morel.
Countering, Tristan Kitchen clicked for French River at 8:02 by pumping in a nice cross-ice pass from Nolan McVeigh to give him 10 goals on the season.
The guests then took a 6-2 lead into the second intermission after Joseph Coates tipped in a Wyatt Farries blast from just inside the blueline.
Action in the third period saw a play put off the side boards sent Drigo in alone on a breakaway where he snapped in his second of the contest and 15th overall to add to their cushion.
Jack Giacoppi answered that for the home side less than a minute later when he wired in a rising wrist shot from the right circle to round out the scoring.
The win for Vale was his 11th of the season, which ties him for second among all league goaltenders.
