FRENCH RIVER – Breaking open a close game with a six-goal, second-period outburst, aided in the Hearst Lumberjacks handling the French River Rapids 13-2 in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League play Saturday at Noelville Arena.
It was the Rapids who clicked first offensively on the night as Jonathan Tripoldi took a spinning back pass through the crease from Rylin Elijah and lifted it past Lumberjacks’ netminder Caleb Hennings, moments into a man advantage.
Pulling even at 15:29, Hearst’s Spencer Walker notched his initial NOJHL tally by tucking in a loose puck off a Timur Naurzbaev chance that got past French River goaltender William Popik.
The visitors then took a 2-1 lead into the intermission after Kadin Bilajbegovic clicked on the power play when he lifted in a chance from the right circle.
Heading to the middle stanza, the visitors struck shorthanded midway through the matchup, when they pushed the puck out of their own one that allowed Colton Loiselle to race in uncontested on a breakaway that he took to his right before elevating a backhand on Popik.
Another man-down effort extended the Hearst lead when Benjamin Kuhl banged in a generous rebound off a Loiselle shot.
An even strength effort from Cameron Menard saw him run a point streak to seven as the Lumberjacks’ forward wheeled into the French River zone and wired in his league-leading 14th.
Owen Kahl then made it 6-1 as he knocked in a loose puck off a Grady Holden chance from the left point.
An injury on that saw Gavin Zuccato enter in relief for the Rapids.
Late tallies from Bruce Shier and Menard’s 15th overall blew it open before French River’s Tristan Lavoie shovelled in a chance generated by teammate Alexi Kitchen.
In the third, Hearst’s Dylan Westmann extended a point streak to eight as he tapped in a pass put his way off a draw controlled by Theo Bourdon-Lemoyne before Jake Gawley pinballed one in from distance.
Westmann and Naurzbaev, with two, added to the onslaught later on to wrap-up the one-sided result.
