The Blind River Beavers and Greater Sudbury Cubs entered their NOJHL West Division final best of seven series about as evenly matched as could be - and through two games to date, that is exactly what we have seen.

A 6-2 Blind River win at home in game two that followed a 2-1 loss to the Cubs in the series opener might seem like a blowout, if one does not drill down beneath the final numbers.

The Beavers took a 3-2 lead into the final period of play, treated to a little more breathing room when Michael Gallagher netted his fourth goal of the post-season at the 5:30 mark of the frame.

A pair of tallies in the final ten minutes by Daniel Vasic (one into an empty-net) only served to make this contest appear far more lopsided than was actually the case.

The visitors opened the scoring when Oliver Smith got on the board, but Jesse Dupuis got that one back much later in the frame as Sudbury outshot Blind River 13-7 in the first.

Smith restored the Cubs' lead with his second of the game (2:32 - P2), but again, the homeside countered, leapfrogging their opponents when both Dupuis and Benjamin Armatage lit the lamp.

Up again in the SOG department in period two (11-10), Sudbury finally faltered in the third as the Beavers opened to full throttle, unleasing an 18-shot barrage at starter Noah Metivier and back-up Noah Beaulne, who covered off the final 8:37 without allowing a goal.

Noah Tegelaar turned in a strong performance between the pipes for Blind River, turning aside 40 of the 42 shots that he faced as the teams now return to Sudbury for games three and four on Monday (April 8th) and Tuesday (April 9th) evenings at the Countryside Sports Complex.