Backed by an impressive 45-save shutout by goaltender Dominic Boily, the Blind River Beavers defeated the Rayside-Balfour Canadians 3-0 in NOJHL action Thursday night at Chelmsford Arena, in front of a season-high home crowd of 550 spectators.
The Canadians played the contest sporting special Super Mario themed jerseys that were being auctioned off to help raise funds for Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer, a volunteer-based organization that supports local families who have a child with cancer.
All of the Canadians’ jerseys were auctioned-off to the delight of the NOFCC and with donations still being made, it is expected that the donation amount will be over the $7,000 mark once all of the numbers are in.
William Day Construction led the way with a $1,000 cash donation and participating in the opening puck-drop alongside of NOFCC’s nine-year-old Carter Carre who was on hand to show support for the
organization that has been so supportive of his family through difficult times.
It was visiting Blind River that collected the evening’s opening tally, with Kyle Quinn notching his 17th marker of the season with assistance from Devon Savignza and Bryan Clahassey in what proved to be the game-winner.
Skating in the middle session saw the Beavers extend their lead as Quinn scored once more at 14:24 as the guests took a 2-0 edge into the third.
In that final frame, Milos Todorovic banged in his 10th early on to pick up what proved the final goal of the game.
Despite lots of chances to get on the board, Boily foiled Rayside-Balfour at every turn to post his second shutout in his past three starts for the Beavers.
Canadians starter David Bowen faced 30 attempts in defeat as he suffered his first setback since back on Oct. 19 after registering victories in 11 straight appearances for the Canadians.
