SUDBURY, Ont. – The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League announced Monday that Soo Eagles goaltender Carter McPhail along with netminder Brayden Lachance and forward Kyle Liinamaa of the Rayside-Balfour Canadians have been selected as its Eastlink TV 3 Stars of the Week for the period ending March 4.
CARTER MCPHAIL, (G) SOO EAGLES – Earning the start in three outings for the Eagles last week, McPhail came up big in each of them posting a trio of victories for his side.
The 19-year-old from Fenton, Mich., began with a tremendous 54-save effort last Monday as Sault Ste. Marie won in double overtime at Blind River.
McPhail followed that up with 23 more stops Friday as the Soo defeated Blind Beaver in OT once again before capping off his run with a 3-0 victory over Elliot Lake Saturday by turning aside all 22 Wildcats’ attempts fired his way to post his NOJHL-leading fourth shutout of the season.
For the week he finished 3-0 along with a 1.28 goals-against average and a .961 save percentage.
On the year the Eagles’ stopper tops the league with his 2.25 average and .932 save mark and is tied for second in wins with 21.
BRAYDEN LACHANCE, (G) RAYSIDE-BALFOUR CANADIANS – Getting the start against a pair of formidable opponents Lachance was large as Rayside-Balfour picked up two close triumphs.
Thursday night saw the 20-year-old Sudbury product make 43 saves in a narrow 2-1 victory vs. the Soo Thunderbirds.
Following a brief relief stint Friday in a Canadians’ win at Espanola that was unblemished, he capped off his weekly efforts by making 41 stops in a 3-1 decision over Cochrane Sunday.
Along with his 2-0 record, he had a 0.99 average and a stingy .977 save percentage in the time frame.
So far this season, Lachance sits second in the league with his .931 save mark while his 2.73 average ties him for fourth in the NOJHL.
KYLE LIINAMAA, (F) RAYSIDE-BALFOUR CANADIANS – Last season’s NOJHL Rookie of the Year continued his strong second half in 2017-18 for Rayside-Balfour picking up points in all three wins the Canadians collected last week.
The 19-year-old from Sudbury enters an important match-up Tuesday in the Soo vs. the Thunderbirds on a five-game point streak.
Also off note, in 17 outings since the New Year, Liinamaa has produced at nearly a two-point-per-game pace with 33 in total having supplied 18 goals and 15 assists in that span to move into a tie for his team lead in offensive production.
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Eastlink TV 3 Stars
Week 1
Brandon Gordon, (G) Soo Thunderbirds
Artem Bortovskiy, (G) Hearst Lumberjacks
Max Khull, (F) Blind River Beavers
Week 2
Gregory Trudeau-Paquet, (F) French River Rapids
Dayton Murray, (D) Powassan Voodoos
Garret Boyonoski, (G) Blind River Beavers
Week 3
Jordan Picard, (F) French River Rapids
Zach Bannister, (F) Kirkland Lake Gold Miners
Gregory Trudeau-Paquet, (F) French River Rapids
Week 4
William Bucsis, (F) Elliot Lake Wildcats
Giordano Finoro, (F) Rayside-Balfour Canadians
Noah Bennett, (D) Cochrane Crunch
Week 5
Evan Spencer, (F) Elliot Lake Wildcats
Marshal Nikitin, (F) Kirkland Lake Gold Miners
Carter McPhail, (G) Soo Eagles
Week 6
Harrison Israels, (F) Powassan Voodoos
Nick Techel, (F) Soo Eagles
Jordan Spadafore, (D) Rayside-Balfour Canadians
Week 7
Michael Corson, (G) Blind River Beavers
Tyson Gilmour, (F) Powassan Voodoos
Max Johnson, (F) Hearst Lumberjacks
Week 8
Kyle Herbster, (F) Cochrane Crunch
Jacob Palmerio, (F) Soo Eagles
Eric Jackson, (G) Timmins Rock
Week 9
Ryan Theriault, (F) Powassan Voodoos
Dylan McMahon, (F) Blind River Beavers
Max Khull, (F) Blind River Beavers
Week 10
Gregory Trudeau-Paquet, (F) French River Rapids/Kirkland Lake Gold Miners
Nick Techel, (F) Soo Eagles
Harrison Israels, (F) Powassan Voodoos
Week 11
Nick Smith, (F) Soo Thunderbirds
Austin Stauffer, (F) Cochrane Crunch
Cameron Moore, (D) Powassan Voodoos
Week 12
Hayden Clark, (D) Soo Eagles
Ethan Lavallee, (D) Rayside-Balfour Canadians
Steve Bellini, (D) Soo Thunderbirds
Week 13
Brandon Gordon, (G) Soo Thunderbirds
Tyler Fyfe, (F) Kirkland Lake Gold Miners
Tyson Gilmour, (F) Powassan Voodoos
Week 14
Payton Vescio, (D) Powassan Voodoos
Caleb Serre, (F) Blind River Beavers
Kyle Herbster, (F) Cochrane Crunch
Week 15
Michael Corson, (G) Blind River Beavers
Logan Sawka, (G) Elliot Lake Wildcats
Gabriel Rheault, (F) Rayside-Balfour Canadians
Week 16
Dylan McMahon, (F) Blind River Beavers
Kobe Keller, (F) Soo Eagles
Taylor Woolcott, (F) Rayside-Balfour Canadians
Week 17
Jacob Kelly, (F) Elliot Lake Wildcats
Kyle Liinamaa, (F) Rayside-Balfour Candians
Dominick Lavergne, (F) Hearst Lumberjacks
Week 18
Shane Beaulieu, (F) Powassan Voodoos
Kyle Liinamaa, (F) Rayside-Balfour Candians
Eric Allair, (D) Powassan Voodoos
Week 19
Christian Bardarson, (F) Soo Eagles
Cam Bruggrabe (G) Blind River Beavers
Harrison Israels, (F) Powassan Voodoos
Week 20
Tyler Masternak, (G) Timmins Rock
Will Caston, (D) Timmins Rock
Tyson Gilmour, (F) Powassan Voodoos
Week 21
Taylor Unruh, (G) Cochrane Crunch
Brayden Lachance, (G) Rayside-Balfour Canadians
Max Johnson, (F) Hearst Lumberjacks
Week 22
Spencer Silver, (F) Hearst Lumberjacks
Logan Sawka, (G) Elliot Lake Wildcats
Andrew Rocha, (G) French River Rapids
Week 23
Levi Johnson, (F) Cochrane Crunch
Kyle Herbster, (F) Cochrane Crunch
Mark Tassone, (F) Soo Thunderbirds
Week 24
Carter McPhail, (G) Soo Eagles
Brayden Lachance, (G) Rayside-Balfour Canadians
Kyle Liinamaa, (F) Rayside-Balfour Canadians