Hawks trim Stars

The first place Northern Hawks built up a big lead then held on for a 7-4 victory over the Screaming Eagles Tuesday in Thunder Bay Jr. B/Juvenile/AAA Hockey League play at the Tournament Centre.

Josh Elvish would put the Hawks on top three minutes into the contest only to see Luke Roy answer back for the Stars a minute later.

Geoff Vaillant’s ninth of the campaign would then restore the lead heading into the second period.

That middle stanza was all Northern Hawks as they tacked on four more markers to go up 6-1 after 40 minutes as Ehren Menard, Cole Sheehan, Ryan Powell and Elvish all found the back of the net within a six-minute and 18-second span. Tom Kane assisted on the first two goals of the session.

Menard’s second of the night extended the Hawks cushion to six at 3:14 of the third.

Jesse Wawia-Boucher’s unassisted effort two minutes later would then cut into the deficit.

Kirk Meekis’ solo strike at 6:06 made it a four-goal contest before he replied again notching a shorthanded tally with 8:10 to go to give the Eagles some life.

They would however draw no closer as the evening’s scoring had come to an end.

Shots on goal favoured the Hawks by a 39-28 count with Jordan George picking up the win. Brandon Martin was tagged with the loss.

With the victory the front-running Hawks improved to 21-3-2 while the first-year Eagles fell to 4-18-4.

League action resumes Thursday when the Eagles tangle with the Jr. B Stars back at the Tournament Centre. Game time is 7:30 p.m.