Goaltender Mackenzie Savard and the Rayside-Balfour Canadians likely weren't thrilled with the opening minute of their Thursday night home game against the Soo Eagles, nor the final five minutes of the contest.
Everything in between, however, was just fine.
The Canadians would see the Eagles break the ice just 23 seconds in, with Nick Techel beating Savard before coach Steve Lauzon and company settled down, building up a 4-1 advantage over the ensuing 54 minutes of play.
But with the game well in control, the homeside got a little sloppy, surrendering markers to Jonathon Lakhani (15:41) and Hayden Clark (17:12), making things interesting in the end.
Thankfully, the Rayside crew had answered quickly in the first, with captain Matt Neault pulling the trigger at 1:39, and built up a cushion in the middle stanza courtesy of tallies from Evan Krassey and Neault, with his second of the game.
The affair looked all but over as defenceman Jordan Spadafore bulged the twine near the midway point of period three, with Savard looking solid between the pipes, finishing the evening with 33 saves.
The victory marked their third in four games this month for Rayside-Balfour, including a pair of shutouts to begin November as Savard earned his third clean slate of the season (2-0 vs Blind River), while freshman Matty Mayhew managed the feat for the very first time, blanking the Elliot Lake Wildcats 3-0.
The Canadians currently hold down top spot in the NOJHL West Division with a mark of 16-6-0-1, two points ahead of Blind River and three up on the Soo Thunderbirds. The Canadians and T-Birds meet twice this week, Saturday night in Sault Ste Marie and back in Chelmsford on Thursday (Nov. 23) at 7 p.m.
Stats Pack: Recently returned from a stint with the Sudbury Wolves, Evan Krassey added a pair of assists to his goal versus the Soo, while blueliner Shane Donovan, recently acquired from Mississauga Chargers (OJHL), looked right at home in quarterbacking the power play and picking up a pair of helpers with the man advantage.
