It was a tough ending to a rough western road trip for the Powassan Voodoos who stumble home with three straight road losses.
Collecting his Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League-leading fourth hat trick of the season, Owen King’s contributions led the Blind River Beavers past the Powassan Voodoos 4-1 in a Sunday afternoon affair at the Blind River Community Centre.
King gave the Beavers the lead 5:46 into the proceedings when he snagged a loose puck to the right of the crease and put it past Voodoos’ netminder Austin Seibel.
Powassan had a solid chance to draw even later in the first period, but goaltender Connor Dunham-Fox denied them on a partial breakaway.
Continuing his torrid scoring clip in the middle frame, King made it 2-0 Blind River when he took a drop pass from YiBin Yoo and whipped in a snap shot from the right circle.
Taking a share of the NOJHL goal-scoring lead, King hit his a natural hat trick by powering a play wide and firing a low shot off the stick of Seibel and into the net at 3:43 of the third for his 39th of the campaign.
That gives King 15 tallies in his past 10 outings.
Extending their edge while up a skater five minutes later, the Beavers’ Wyatt Gibson put a pass between the circles that was fired in by Yoo.
In the late going, Powassan would eventually thwart the shutout bid of Dunham-Fox with 12.7 seconds remaining while on a power play.
Up a skater on the final marker of the contest, the Voodoos’ Dawson Coleman neatly redirected in a Lucas de Caluwe set-up into the slot, to see him score for a second straight contest in wrapping things up.
The Voodoos end a tough road trip which saw them fall 8-2 on Friday in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario to the Thunderbirds, then a tight 3-2 setback in Soo, Michigan to the Eagles and then the 4-1 Sunday setback.