Thursday night in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) featured decisive victories for the Greater Sudbury Cubs and the Blind River Beavers. Both teams won 5-1, with standout offensive performances leading the charge.
Newton’s hat trick fuels Cubs’ victory
The Greater Sudbury Cubs defeated the Iroquois Falls Storm 5-1, propelled by a three-goal effort from Nolan Newton.
Newton opened the scoring late in the first period with a high shot. He doubled the lead for the Cubs midway through the second, followed by Daks Klinkhammer scoring to make it 3-0.
Klinkhammer added his second goal in the third period. The Storm broke the shutout bid when Lucas Willoughby scored with eight minutes remaining. Newton completed his second hat trick of the season with a power-play goal late in the third to round out the scoring.
Beavers pull away with second period surge
The Blind River Beavers defeated the winless French River Rapids 5-1, scoring three goals in less than seven minutes during the second period.
French River initially took the lead on a late first-period power-play goal from Armando Rojo Bolton. The Beavers quickly responded in the second, with Camden Cowan scoring a power-play goal to tie the game. Shea Crewson then put Blind River ahead, and Wyatt Jarratt extended the lead to 3-1.
Jarratt scored his second goal of the night in the third period, and Caleb Walker added another to secure the 5-1 road victory. The win improves Blind River’s season record to 2-5-0-1.