ESPANOLA, Ont. – A two-goal night from Espanola Paper Kings’ rookie forward Owen Smith, helped lead his side to a 6-3 triumph over the Timmins Rock Saturday night in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League contest held at the Regional Recreation Complex.
The Paper Kings kicked off the scoring on the power play in the latter stages of the first period when Joseph Coates took a pass in the slot from by Graydon Guthrie and wired it past Rock netminder Ayden Mullen.
Exchanging early markers in the first minute of the middle stanza, both clubs were quick to connect in the session.
After defenceman Ben Hugessen put one in for Timmins by Espanola’s Logan Vale at the 36-second mark, with a wrist shot through a screen from the right side, Smith answered that moments later as he promptly buried a feed courtesy of Colton Loiselle while parked in front.
More from the NOJHL’s rookie point-leader at 5:31, Smith clicked once again as he cranked in a one-timer from the left circle, during a five-on-three, after being teed up by Coates.
The Paper Kings kept coming and went up 4-1 while shorthanded as Carter Drigo steered in a play put to him off a draw won by Jason Galante.
Trading goals again late in the second, Lucas Lowe brought Timmins closer once more as he completed the work of Maxfeld Shin, only to see Callum Millar convert on the power play at 19:36 to make it 5-2 after 40 minutes, by poking in a loose puck laying on the goal line.
In the third, another from Lowe on an extended power play pulled Timmins to within a pair once more.
However, Coates iced it late for Espanola with an empty netter as he lofted one in from his own end off a save by Vale to round out the scoring.
That sees the Paper Kings conclude their regular season at 27-21-1-3.
They’ll now gear up to meet the Hearst Lumberjacks in the first round of the NOJHL playoffs, which begin next week.
As for the Rock, they finish off at 34-14-0-4 and will get set to take on the Soo Thunderbirds in best-of-seven quarter-final play.
