Surging Beavers defeat Thunderbirds for 11th consecutive win

Daniel Vasic scored twice to lead the Blind River Beavers to a 4-1 win over the Soo Thunderbirds Friday for their 11th straight Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League victory at John Rhodes Community Centre.

An evenly contested opening 20 minutes saw neither side convert offensively as they hit the first intermission still in search of an opening goal.

In the second period, the Beavers broke the stalemate at 1:27 as Vasic banked one in from the top of the crease and beat Thunderbirds’ netminder Kolton Bourret to give him goals in five straight games, as well as points in 12 in succession.

Blind River then went ahead by two, when Sam Morganti clicked on the power play for his initial NOJHL marker as he pumped one in with a wrist shot from the left circle.

Adding another early in the third, Brendan Cooke found himself free in front of Bourret and made no mistake with his opportunity after receiving the puck.

Sault Ste. Marie got one back with the man advantage, as Thomas Degagne jammed in a rebound off a Declan Gallivan point blast.

Vasic then capped off the road victory by taking his time on a power play and firing through Bourret from the left circle to round out the scoring and extend his club’s winning streak.

With the outcome, Blind River improves to 25-8-0-0 on the year, while in defeat, the Soo falls to 18-9-2-1.