It’s ON! Beavers and Paper Kings begin playoffs tonight in Blind River

Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League playoff action begins Thursday on three fronts, including two NOJHL West Division semifinal get togethers in a pair of best-of-seven affairs.

In the West, the No. 1 Blind River Beavers take on the No. 4 Espanola Paper Kings, while the No. 2 Greater Sudbury Cubs will meet the No. 3 Soo Thunderbirds.

Here’s a look at the two match-ups in the NOJHL West:

NOJHL West Division semifinal
Blind River Beavers vs. Espanola Paper Kings
Best-of-seven series

HEAD COACHES:

Beavers: Kyle Brick
Paper Kings: Jason Rapcewicz

SEASON RECORDS:

Beavers: 45-12-0-1 (1st NOJHL West/1st overall)
Paper Kings: 34-23-1-0 (4th NOJHL West/7th overall)

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The two clubs met four times during the course of the regular season with Blind River coming away victorious on each occasion, including registering a pair of shutouts.

In all, the Beavers outscored the Paper Kings by a 20-9 margin.

RESULTS:

Oct. 7 @ Espanola: Beavers 3 Paper Kings 0
Oct. 28 @ Blind River: Beavers 6 Paper Kings 3
Jan. 14 @ Blind River: Beavers 2 Paper Kings 0
March 15 @ Espanola: Beavers 9 Paper Kings 6

SERIES SCHEDULE:

Game 1: Thursday, March 21 @ Blind River 7 p.m. (Blind River Community Centre)
Game 2: Saturday, March 23 @ Blind River 7 p.m. (Blind River Community Centre)
Game 3: Sunday, March 24 @ Espanola 7 p.m. (Regional Recreation Complex)
Game 4: Tuesday, March 26 @ Espanola 7 p.m. (Regional Recreation Complex)
Game 5*: Thursday, March 28 @ Blind River 7 p.m. (Blind River Community Centre)
Game 6*: Friday, March 29 @ Espanola 7:30 p.m. (Regional Recreation Complex)
Game 7*: Sunday, March 31 @ Blind River 2 p.m. (Blind River Community Centre)
*-if necessary

THE BEAVERS: Capturing their initial league regular season title in franchise history, Blind River is the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs. … Backstopping the Beavers is NOJHL rookie of the year, goaltender Noah Tegelaar. … He led all netminders in wins (27); goals-against average (2.02); save percentage (.928) and shutouts (6). … Boosting Blind River’s back-end is top defenceman award recipient Andrey Manov. … He averaged over a point-per-game and set personal single-season bests in goals (12); assists (50) and points (62). … Manov’s five game-winning goals led all league defencemen and he finished second in offensive production among rearguards. … Both were also named 1st NOJHL All-Stars. … 2nd Team selection Daniel Vasic was only held off the game sheet three times in 35 outings. … Beginning with points in each of his first 22 games of the campaign, the 17-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., went on to score 37 times and assist on 22 others. He tied for second overall with his six game-winning tallies. … The Lake Superior State, NCAA Division I commit, also had a league-high 10-game goal streak earlier. … League top defensive forward honouree Jakob Kovacs paced all NOJHL skaters in shorthanded goals, with six. … The veteran forward from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., also established single-season highs in goals (30); assists (35) and points (65). … Under NOJHL coach of the year Kyle Brick, his side went 45-12-0-1 overall. … Special teams work saw Blind River end-up fourth in power play proficiency (25.2%) and third on the penalty kill (85.2%). … They were second overall in shorthanded markers with 14. … The Beavers were also 40-3-0-1 when scoring first in a game and they only lost once when leading after two periods. … The Beavers only allowed a league-low 148 goals against.

THE PAPER KINGS: Boasting plenty of firepower, Espanola boasted three of the NOJHL Top 5 point-getters. … Leading the way is league MVP Lucas Signoretti, who paced all skaters in goals, assists and points with 47, 70 and 117 respectively. … Signoretti’s overall point totals were the most in league play since the 2011-12 campaign. … The Paper Kings centre was twice named the NOJHL’s Forward of the Month; the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s (CJHL) 1st Star of the Month, Fuelled by Gatorade, for October, earned honourable mention for the same award in February and on three occasions was named one of the NOJHL’s Eastlink TV 3 Stars of the Week. … He wrapped up the regular season on a league-best 14-game assist streak, that also featured 14 tallies, Signoretti had 33 multi-point efforts, including 21 of which were three points, or more. … Another 100-plus-point-man was most improved player Owen Fergusson. … Fergusson tallied 41 times and helped set-up 69 others for 110 points. … His contributions saw him finish third in power play markers (15); come second in shorthanded goals (5) and tie for second in game-winning efforts (6). … 1sT Team All-Star on defence, Spencer Horgan led the Paper Kings from the back-end. … Horgan topped all league blueliners in scoring with 89 points in 53 games played. In all, the 19-year-old from Bowmanville, Ont., scored 29 times and helped set-up 60 others this season. …Twice a NOJHL Defenceman of the Month award recipient, Horgan boasted 27 multi-point efforts this season. … Espanola was fourth overall in goals scored with 271 and eighth in goals-allowed at 219. … Special teams saw the Paper Kings sit second in the NOJHL, converting at a rate of 26.7%. … On the P.K., they were fifth at 81.5%. … They led the league in shorthanded goals with 15.