Photos: Bob Davies
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – Against his former club, goaltender Alex Bugeja provided a 31-save effort for the Powassan Voodoos Saturday to help his current side blank the Soo Thunderbirds 4-0 in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League action at John Rhodes Community Centre.
After being shutout for the first time this season on Friday night, Powassan took care of that a couple of minutes into the proceedings as Caleb Van de Ven jammed in a rebound while parked in front of Thunderbirds’ starter Noah Metivier.
It was more Voodoos at 5:09 with Jackson Buffam clicking on the power play by chipping one over a sprawled Metivier.
The guests added another before the opening frame was complete with Rodion Tatarenko taking advantage of the giveaway and ripping a shot, blocker side, for his 15th of the season.
Moving to the middle frame, neither side converted offensively as Powassan took their three-goal cushion into the break.
Third period play saw the Voodoos wrap things up with a mid-ice empty netter from Jacob McLellan in the final minute to round out the scoring.
The result saw Powassan improve to 22-7-4-1 on the season while the Thunderbirds slipped to 20-5-2-3 in defeat.
