NOJHL names its Eastlink TV 3 Stars of the Week

SUDBURY, Ont. The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League announced Monday that Hearst Lumberjacks goaltender Rahul Bola, as well as forwards Tyler Savard of the Soo Thunderbirds and Tomas Yachmenev of the Powassan Voodoos, have been named its Eastlink TV 3 Stars of the Week for the period ending Oct. 20.

RAHUL BOLA, (G) HEARST LUMBERJACKS The Hearst netminder posted back-to-back shutouts in his two starts last week helping the surging Lumberjacks run their current winning streak to seven games in succession.

With 51 saves in all, in victories over Espanola and Kirkland Lake, the 19-year-old North York, Ont., product now sports a solid 5-1 record in this his first year in the league while not having given up a goal in nearly 136 minutes of game action.

Entering play this week, Bola boasts the third-best goals-against average in the NOJHL at 1.83 and sits in a similar spot in save percentage at .937.

His two shutouts also tie him for the league lead in that department.

TYLER SAVARD, (F) SOO THUNDERBIRDS The Thunderbirds rookie was instrumental in all four wins Sault Ste. Marie collected last week.

The 16-year-old from Peterborough, Ont., racked up nine points in the four outings the Soo had in the time frame by scoring three times, including a pair of game-winners, while dishing out six assists, that featured helpers on the other two contest-deciding tallies.

Savard enters action this week riding a seven-game point streak and leads all NOJHL rookies in point-per-game ratio at 1.56 with 14 in total through his initial nine league contests on four markers and 10 assists.

TOMAS YACHMENEV, (F) POWASSAN VOODOOS Contributing in a big way for the league-leading Voodoos last week was Yachmenev.

At last weeks NOJHL Showcase in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., the 19-year-old forward, who calls Nashville, Tenn., home, collected the game-winner late in regulation in a narrow 2-1 decision over the Blind River Beavers.

In Powassan’s next outing at the Showcase, he tallied once more in a 5-2 triumph over Espanola.

Then taking on Timmins Saturday in a first-place overall showdown, Yachmenev dished out an assist then scored an impressive decider in the shootout to end it in defeating the Rock 4-3.

He now has points in four straight games and has only been held off the scoresheet once in his first 12 contests so far in 2019-20 for Powassan who has won 12 in a row and are ranked fourth nationally in the Canadian Junior Hockey League rankings.

Eastlink TV 3 Stars

Week 1
Stephen Minichiello, (F) Cochrane Crunch
Owen Say, (G) Powassan Voodoos
Caleb Serre, (F) Blind River Beavers

Week 2
Gabinien Kioki, (F) Powassan Voodoos
Lucas Adams, (F) Blind River Beavers
Max Griffioen, (F) Hearst Lumberjacks

Week 3
Caleb Serre, (F) Blind River Beavers
Shane Brancato, (G) Soo Eagles
Matthew Belanger, (F) Rayside-Balfour Canadians

Week 4
Parker Bowman, (F) Powassan Voodoos
Mitchell Martin, (F) Rayside-Balfour Canadians
Landis Antonic, (F) Kirkland Lake Gold Miners

Week 5
Blake Vaca, (F) Soo Eagles
Gregory Trudeau-Paquet, (F) Powassan Voodoos
Derek Seguin, (F) Timmins Rock

Week 6
Nicholas DeGrazia, (F) Rayside-Balfour Canadians
Matais Salem, (D) Espanola Express
Liam Oxner, (G) Hearst Lumberjacks

Week 7
Rahul Bola, (G) Hearst Lumberjacks
Tyler Savard, (F) Soo Thunderbirds
Tomas Yachmenev, (F) Powassan Voodoos