Photos: Justin Cairns
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – Taking control with a five-goal first period, the Soo Eagles went on to make quick work of the French River Rapids, skating to eventual 11-0 decision Saturday night in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League play at Pullar Stadium.
Posting his initial NOJHL shutout in the game was Jett Loechler.
The Eagles took flight just past the nine-minute mark of the contest when Samuel Gold spun along the side boards and fired a shot through a pair of bodies in front of him that eluded Rapids starter Matis Bureau-Morel.
Tacking on three more in a 68-second span, Sault Ste. Marie extended their edge.
Colton Huckson began the outburst as the defenceman kept a play in the French River zone on the left side and darted in with speed, then after side-stepping a defender, wired a sizzler upstairs at 13:55.
Then right off the draw, Gold potted another by stuffing in a wrap around.
With that, a goaltending change saw back-up Gavin Zuccato enter in relief.
More from Sault Ste. Marie however saw Lucas Caulfield connect on the power play when he snapped a shot that hit off the new netminder’s glove and flopped in.
Capping off the high-scoring session, Brendan Boberg lifted in a play put to him from down low by Alex Povorozniouk at 19:53.
Adding to the lead in the middle stanza, Eagles’ blueliner Micah Seery took a drop pass from Caulfield and buried one from a sharp angle from along the goal line at 7:14.
More from the Soo a minute and a half later, Anden Marceau notched his 32nd of the year as he finished off the leftovers of a Nolan Nemecek chance.
That sees both players run points streak to six apiece.
Another from Caulfield deep in the second saw him sent in alone on a breakaway where he made no mistake by sending one upstairs into the upper right corner.
A ninth on the night saw Nemecek convert from between the circles to reach the 20-goal plateau in 2025-26.
Capping off the romp in the third, Nemecek burst into the French River zone and buried a backhand before Gold completed a hat trick to finish it off as he neatly tucked one past Bureau-Morel who had re-entered the proceedings previously.
The victory moves the Eagles back to the .500 mark at 23-23-2-1, heading into a Sunday afternoon contest in Blind River at 1 p.m. and on FLOHockey.tv.
