ESPANOLA, Ont. – Espanola Paper Kings goaltender Andrew Gaulton was unbeatable Friday night in posting his first Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League shutout as part of a 5-0 triumph over the Elliot Lake Vikings in a match-up held at the Regional Recreation Complex.
The lone tally of the opening 20 minutes came on the power play at 14:19 when Espanola’s Spencer Horgan moved in from the point and buried a rebound from the right of Elliot Lake goaltender Cameron Boville for the eventual game-winner.
Moving to the middle stanza, the Paper Kings went up by a pair nearly four minutes in when two Vikings players collided in the corner, which allowed Jack Lynes to skate out uncontested and bury a shot from the left circle for a shorthanded goal.
Espanola’s special teams went to work once more at 7:09 thanks to Grant Booth, while his club was up a skater, as he banged in a bouncing puck.
It was more from the Paper Kings later in the frame, while skating four-on-four, as they broke out on an odd-man rush and saw Owen Fergusson set-up Lynes for his second of the period with a quick shot from the left wing.
Adding some early insurance, 36 seconds into the third, Atley Gringorten extended the Paper Kings’ cushion to five as he took a Horgan feed and finished it off from in close.
Gaulton did the rest in collecting the win, helping his team move to 4-1 overall, while the Vikings dropped to 1-4-1.
