saultsports Photos: Helene Rancourt
BLIND RIVER, Ont. – Riding the shutout goaltending of Connor Dunham-Fox, and seeing Owen King supply the lone tally of the match-up, the Blind River Beavers skated to a narrow 1-0 triumph over the Soo Thunderbirds in a high-energy Game 1 of their Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League quarter-final contest Thursday evening at the Blind River Community Centre.
Notching what proved to be the evening’s only marker, King, the NOJHL’s leading goal-getter in the regular season, neatly tipped an Owen van de Ven shot from the right point out of mid-air that bounced down and between the legs of Sault Ste. Marie starter Noah Metivier at 12:20 of the opening period.
With both sides bringing plenty of intensity, the score remained 1-0 Beavers through 20 minutes.
Action in the second stanza saw the Thunderbirds push hard for an equalizer, only to be denied by Dunham-Fox, who efforts kept his club’s slim lead into the intermission.
In the third, it remained hard-fought and competitive throughout.
The T-Birds did get Metivier out deep into the session in an effort to tie it and send it to overtime, but as it was the rest of the night, they could not get one past Dunham-Fox before time expired.
Game 2 goes Saturday at 7 p.m. back in Blind River and online at FLOHockey.tv.
NOJHL quarter-final
Soo Thunderbirds vs. Blind River Beavers
Beavers lead best-of-seven series 1-0
Game 1: Beavers 1 Thunderbirds 0
Game 2: Saturday, March 22 @ Blind River 7 p.m. (Blind River Community Centre)
Game 3: Sunday, March 23 @ Sault Ste. Marie 7 p.m. (John Rhodes Community Centre)
Game 4: Tuesday, March 25 @ Sault Ste. Marie 7 p.m. (John Rhodes Community Centre)
Game 5*: Thursday, March 27 @ Blind River 7 p.m. (Blind River Community Centre)
Game 6*: Saturday, March 29 @ Sault Ste. Marie 7 p.m. (John Rhodes Community Centre)
Game 7*: Tuesday, April 1 @ Blind River 7 p.m. (Blind River Community Centre)
*-if necessary
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