BLIND RIVER, Ont. – Riley Nadeau scored three times for his third hat trick of the season to power the Blind River Beavers to a 4-1 victory over the Elliot Lake Wildcats in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League action Thursday evening at the Blind River Community Centre.
While this contest was originally scheduled to be played in Elliot Lake, the game was moved to Blind River as the Wildcats home venue, Centennial Arena, remains closed as crews work to remove excess snow and ice off of the building’s roof.
After a scoreless first frame, Blind River opened the night’s scoring 4:41 into the second stanza as Nadeau notched his 23rd marker of the season.
Answering back, the Wildcats, sporting retro Elliot Lake Vikings jerseys, drew level less than three minutes later thanks to a Connor Taylor effort.
However, the Beavers bounced back just 36 seconds later to go back on top courtesy of Nadeau once more.
Heading to the third, Blind River extended their cushion as Nadeau notched his third on the night and 25th overall at 12:28 before he helped set-up Andrew Warhoftig for an empty netter in the final minute to wrap-up the victory.
Warhoftig and Brendan Young chipped in with two assists each to aid the winners cause.
Beavers goaltender Jackson Hjelle made 18 stops to record the win while Elliot Lake’s Dominic Boily faced 40 attempts in defeat.