Photos: Tanner Wallace (Tan Tan Photography)
POWASSAN, Ont. – The Powassan Voodoos saw Ryan Saginaw supply his first career Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League hat trick Saturday in propelling his side to an 8-1 triumph over the French River Rapids at the Powassan Sportsplex.
The Voodoos struck first in the contest when Jesse Lefebvre swooped in and snagged a loose puck in front and snapped it over the pad of Rapids’ netminder Keiran Caughran 2:51 in.
Powassan kept it going and banged in two more before play was seven and a half minutes in to take early.
After Saginaw pumped in a rebound off a Ben Gisonni chance, for the eventual game-winner, Jax Pereira wheeled out from behind the net and ripped in his sixth of the campaign.
That saw French River opt to make a goaltending change with Matis Bureau-Morel entering in relief.
Jeremy Clark did put the Rapids on the board off a nice individual rush from his own zone that was finished off with a wrister from the slot in the Voodoos’ end that beat netminder Derrick Champagne at 18:11.
Matching that before the intermission, Saginaw potted his second of the session off a nice rush of Powassan territory that led to him sending a sizzler past the blocker of Bureau-Morel and into the left corner.
In the middle stanza, the home side tallied twice midway through the frame to break it open.
After Owen Head converted on a power play by knocking in a loose puck that hit off the end boards following a Braeden Begley point blast, Pavel Barclay collected his initial NOJHL goal by opting to shoot on a two-on-one that he ripped into the left corner.
Helping the secure the victory while up a skater early in the third, Begley collected the leftovers and put one into a gaping net to put the hosts up by six.
Saginaw then finished off his hat trick off a turnover that he completed with a wrist shot from between the circles at 4:48 in what was the night’s final goal.
The win raises the Voodoos’ record to 10-3-0-1 while in defeat, the Rapids fell to 3-12-0-0.
