NOJHL names its Eastlink 3 Stars of the week

SUDBURY, Ont. – The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League announced Monday that goaltenders Taylor Unruh of the Cochrane Crunch and Brayden Lachance of the Rayside-Balfour Canadians, along with Hearst Lumberjacks forward Max Johnson have been named its Eastlink TV 3 Stars of the Week for the period ending Feb. 11.

TAYLOR UNRUH, (G) COCHRANE CRUNCH – A solid two-game stint saw Unruh record back-to-back victories over rival Timmins helping the Crunch sweep a home-and-home set vs. the Rock.

In his final year of Jr. A hockey, the Regina, Sask., native made a combined 56 saves, while allowing just one goal against in each outing against Timmins, helping Cochrane extend a winning streak to five in succession.

For the week he had a solid 1.00 goals-against average along with a stingy .966 save percentage.

Unruh has won his past four appearances and also boasts an 8-1 mark in his past nine starts with his 17 overall decisions tying him for third overall among all NOJHL netminders.

BRAYDEN LACHANCE, (G) RAYSIDE-BALFOUR CANADIANS – Lachance was there when called upon last week by Rayside-Balfour by winning both of his starts and help vault the Canadians into first place in the tightly-matched NOJHL West Division standings.

The 19-year-old from Sudbury began by turning aside all 34 shots he faced to post his first NOJHL shutout Saturday as Rayside-Balfour blanked Espanola.

Sunday evening saw him keep his side in it with a 44-stop performance as the Canadians rallied late for a dramatic triumph over visiting Hearst.

In all Lachance had a 2.00 average for the week along with a .951 save percentage.

He has also registered a 7-2-1-0 record in his past 10 starts.

MAX JOHNSON, (F) HEARST LUMBERJACKS – In a busy four-game road swing last week for Hearst, Johnson picked up points in all of them, including goals in the final three.

In all he tallied three times and doled out four assists for the first-year Lumberjacks.

In this his initial season competing in the NOJHL, the 18-year-old Maple Grove, Minn., product is a point-per-game player for Hearst with 37 in as many outings with 17 goals and 20 assists to his credit.

Johnson enters play this week riding a five-game point streak while also having etched his name on the scoresheet in 15 of his previous 19 contests.

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Eastlink TV 3 Stars

Week 1
Brandon Gordon, (G) Soo Thunderbirds
Artem Bortovskiy, (G) Hearst Lumberjacks
Max Khull, (F) Blind River Beavers

Week 2
Gregory Trudeau-Paquet, (F) French River Rapids
Dayton Murray, (D) Powassan Voodoos
Garret Boyonoski, (G) Blind River Beavers

Week 3
Jordan Picard, (F) French River Rapids
Zach Bannister, (F) Kirkland Lake Gold Miners
Gregory Trudeau-Paquet, (F) French River Rapids

Week 4
William Bucsis, (F) Elliot Lake Wildcats
Giordano Finoro, (F) Rayside-Balfour Canadians
Noah Bennett, (D) Cochrane Crunch

Week 5
Evan Spencer, (F) Elliot Lake Wildcats
Marshal Nikitin, (F) Kirkland Lake Gold Miners
Carter McPhail, (G) Soo Eagles

Week 6
Harrison Israels, (F) Powassan Voodoos
Nick Techel, (F) Soo Eagles
Jordan Spadafore, (D) Rayside-Balfour Canadians

Week 7
Michael Corson, (G) Blind River Beavers
Tyson Gilmour, (F) Powassan Voodoos
Max Johnson, (F) Hearst Lumberjacks

Week 8
Kyle Herbster, (F) Cochrane Crunch
Jacob Palmerio, (F) Soo Eagles
Eric Jackson, (G) Timmins Rock

Week 9
Ryan Theriault, (F) Powassan Voodoos
Dylan McMahon, (F) Blind River Beavers
Max Khull, (F) Blind River Beavers

Week 10
Gregory Trudeau-Paquet, (F) French River Rapids/Kirkland Lake Gold Miners
Nick Techel, (F) Soo Eagles
Harrison Israels, (F) Powassan Voodoos

Week 11
Nick Smith, (F) Soo Thunderbirds
Austin Stauffer, (F) Cochrane Crunch
Cameron Moore, (D) Powassan Voodoos

Week 12
Hayden Clark, (D) Soo Eagles
Ethan Lavallee, (D) Rayside-Balfour Canadians
Steve Bellini, (D) Soo Thunderbirds

Week 13
Brandon Gordon, (G) Soo Thunderbirds
Tyler Fyfe, (F) Kirkland Lake Gold Miners
Tyson Gilmour, (F) Powassan Voodoos

Week 14
Payton Vescio, (D) Powassan Voodoos
Caleb Serre, (F) Blind River Beavers
Kyle Herbster, (F) Cochrane Crunch

Week 15
Michael Corson, (G) Blind River Beavers
Logan Sawka, (G) Elliot Lake Wildcats
Gabriel Rheault, (F) Rayside-Balfour Canadians

Week 16
Dylan McMahon, (F) Blind River Beavers
Kobe Keller, (F) Soo Eagles
Taylor Woolcott, (F) Rayside-Balfour Canadians

Week 17
Jacob Kelly, (F) Elliot Lake Wildcats
Kyle Liinamaa, (F) Rayside-Balfour Candians
Dominick Lavergne, (F) Hearst Lumberjacks

Week 18
Shane Beaulieu, (F) Powassan Voodoos
Kyle Liinamaa, (F) Rayside-Balfour Candians
Eric Allair, (D) Powassan Voodoos

Week 19
Christian Bardarson, (F) Soo Eagles
Cam Bruggrabe (G) Blind River Beavers
Harrison Israels, (F) Powassan Voodoos

Week 20
Tyler Masternak, (G) Timmins Rock
Will Caston, (D) Timmins Rock
Tyson Gilmour, (F) Powassan Voodoos

Week 21
Taylor Unruh, (G) Cochrane Crunch
Brayden Lachance, (G) Rayside-Balfour Canadians
Max Johnson, (F) Hearst Lumberjacks