NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
NOJHL NETWORK MEDIA UPDATE
Release Date: Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017
Wildcats and Thunderbirds skate to first 0-0 NOJHL game in over 13 years
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – It was a battle of the goaltenders Sunday night at Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie as the Elliot Lake Wildcats and Soo Thunderbirds skated to the first 0-0 overtime draw in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League play in over 13 years.
According to files from NOJHL statistician and historian David Harrison, the last time there was a 0-0 game in league action, it was all the way back on October 7, 2004 when the then Michigan Black Bears and Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats played to a goalless draw at Chelmsford Arena.
In Sunday’s match-up, neither side would manage a goal through 60 minutes of regulation and a pair of five-minute OT sessions with the Wildcats’ Justin Richer and the Thunderbirds’ Brandon Gordon doing their job in keeping opposing shooters at bay.
Richer stopped all 39 shots he faced throughout the contest while Gordon handled all 20 attempts fired his way in helping their clubs earn a point in the league standings.
The shutout for Gordon was his league-leading fourth of the season while Richer recorded his second in 2016-17.
Photos by James Egan’s Sports Photography
