Eskis sweep home-and-home series against Royals

Abitibi in first place in NOJHL

By Vincent Man, The Daily Press

IROQUOIS FALLS — Everything worked in favour of the Abitibi Eskimos during an 8-2 beating of the Temiscaming Royals on Saturday night.

The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League's top team seemingly could do no wrong as it built a comfortable lead early and coasted to its 32nd win of the season.

Defenceman Benoit Gauthier scored twice and also recorded an assist en route to picking up the game's first star honour.

"It's a good feeling," said Gauthier, who now has six markers and 19 assists this season. "I've had three goals in the last two games and that's (a sign) that things are working.

"I don't know if I'm doing anything differently, but in some games, the puck rolls for you a little bit more. I just have to keep trying."

Marc-Alain Begin also had three points on a goal and two assists, while the Eskis' other scorers were Maxime St. Pierre, Olivier Morin, Joel Roy, Justin Lafleur and Josh Clancy. Clancy's goal was his 37th, which is a league best.

Shane Golden and Andre Leclair tallied for the undermanned Royals.

Though every bounce of the puck went Abitibi's way, it was not the result of luck. Instead, Gauthier credited the team's effort for the good fortune.

"After it was 5-1 or 6-1, (the Royals) stopped trying," he said. "Sometimes when you're winning by a lot, you become a little relaxed, but we kept up the intensity and that's why everything worked out for us."

The all-around effort showed on the scoresheet as the goals were spread. And Gauthier was not the only Abitibi blue-liner to get in on the scoring act. Lafleur tallied for the fourth time this season after serving an interference penalty. Upon exiting the sin bin, Lafleur found the puck on the tape of his stick after a seeing-eye pass from Nick Beaudoin. The defenceman then took advantage of the breakaway by going top shelf for the Eskis' eighth goal of the game.

"The spirit is good. They're all happy because everyone's doing their job, their assignments are being done and guys are scoring here and there," Eskis head coach Paul Gagne said. "Our captain mentioned after the game that we worked hard this week. We had a lot of little things we worked on because we were getting a little lackadaisical in certain areas in the defensive zone and we worked really hard and it showed in that last couple of games."

The match, which was played at the Jus Jordan Arena, was the second half of a home-and-home series. On Friday night, the Eskis defeated the Royals 5-1 in Temiscaming.

Ever since a Western road swing in mid-January, the Eskis have stepped up their game, and their recent success has been very satisfying, Gauthier said.

"Everyone's playing great and on a roll and they want to get better," he said. "You can tell in practice, our intensity level is going up all the time. Since that road trip, we saw that the other teams are getting better too, so we're giving it (our all) right now.

"I wouldn't say we're unstoppable. I'd say the opposite. That road trip, we won two, but lost one, and they were two overtime wins, one in a shootout. It told us we have to try even harder."

Though he only played the game's first two periods, goalie Eddie Davey added to his NOJHL single-season record with his 31st win. He made 15 saves. Chandler Long took over in the third period and stopped 10 shots. The only goal he allowed came on the power play.

The Eskis (32-7-3) have eight games left in the regular season. They will play a pair of home games this week. On Friday, they will host the Sudbury Junior Wolves at the McIntyre Arena in Timmins. They will then meet the West-leading Soo Thunderbirds on Saturday night at the Jus Jordan Arena in Iroquois Falls

Eskis reign over Royals

Abitibi matches North Bay’s win

By The Daily Press

Persistance paid off Friday night for the Abitibi Eskimos.

The Eskis were relentless in their effort to put the puck in the net against the Temiscaming Royals. They poured 56 shots on goal to the Royals' 29 and won 5-1 in Temiscaming.

Josh Clancy led the way by scoring twice and adding an assist. Felix Boutin, Benoit Gauthier and Michael Robert had the Eskis' other goals.

The team's top line of Clancy, Boutin and Marc-Alain Begin combined to record eight points as Begin had three assists. The three players are all in the top four in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League's scoring race.

Cedric Boutin scored Temiscaming's only marker in the second period.

Coming off his worst game with the Eskis in which he gave up three goals on six shots before being pulled, Eddie Davey bounced back by stopping 28 shots for his 30th victory of the season. The only goal he allowed came while Abitibi was attempting to kill a penalty.

The Eskis are now 31-7-3 and have a comfortable nine-point lead over the second-place North Bay Trappers in the East. The Trappers were also in action last night and beat the Soo Eagles 6-4.

Abitibi and Temiscaming will meet in a rematch tonight in Iroquois Falls. Jus Jordan Arena will be the site of the game, which begins at 7:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Trappers will continue their mini road trip tonight vs. the Soo Thunderbirds.