ESPANOLA, Ont. – Cameron Menard collected three goals while Jack Helkie registered his Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League-leading third shutout of the season as part of a 6-0 win by the Espanola Paper Kings over the Soo Eagles in a heavily-penalized encounter Saturday at the Regional Recreation Complex.
Converting on a five-on-three, just over eight minutes into the contest, Menard took a feed from Emerson De Giacomo and ripped it upstairs on Eagles’ starter Jace Knoerle.
A splendid shorthanded effort by Owen Smith saw the Espanola rookie race in alone on a breakaway and lift his chance high over the glove of Knoerle at 17:12.
Heading to the second stanza, the Paper Kings kept it going as Menard notched another by forcing a turnover then roofing one on a rising wraparound while coming out from behind the net.
Smith then supplied another with his club up a man by slamming in a rebound off a Joseph Coates chance.
Up two skaters again, the hosts made it 5-0 thanks to Carter Drigo at 19:04.
Finishing it off in the third, Wyatt Farries lifted a point shot from up top that Menard deflected in the late going to wrap-up the evening’s scoring with his NOJHL-best 25th of the campaign.
The outcome sees the Paper Kings improve to 16-8-0-1 and in defeat the Eagles slipped to 10-15-0-1.
