NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
NOJHL MEDIA UPDATE
Release Date: Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015
Champagne leads Nickel Barons over Voodoos
SUDBURY – Eric Champagne’s second goal of the game 1:57 into overtime lifted the Sudbury Nickel Barons to a dramatic 5-4 victory over the Powassan Voodoos Wednesday evening in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League play at McClelland Arena.
Sudbury got off to a good start in this one, grabbing a 2-0 lead before the 12-minute mark of the contest on tallies by Jimmy Roy and Champagne, who notched his first in a Nickel Barons uniform.
Just 53 seconds after Champagne’s effort, Steve Harland blasted home his 30th goal of the season while extending an impressive consecutive game point streak to 20 in the process to make it a 2-1 game after 20 minutes.
Harland then drew assists on Powassan markers by Kyle Moore and Brendan D’Agostino to put the visitors up by one.
The home side countered with the equalizer, via the power play in the latter stages of the middle stanza as Danny Lepage struck at 18:02.
Seven and a half minutes into the third it was Sudbury’s turn to go back in front as Nickel Barons captain Jacob Bonin struck shorthanded to make it a 4-3 game.
With time winding down, Powassan used the power play to rally and force OT as Jake Staples buried the equalizer, with 32 second left in regulation.
Starting the extra five-minute session skating four aside Sudbury pulled out the win and earned the second point as Champagne popped the game-winner past Voodoos netminder Matt Young.
Bonin and August Jarecki both had two assists for the Nickel Barons as did Harland and Moore for Powassan.
Kevin Labelle finished the night with 28 saves to pick up the victory while Young made 29 stops in help his side earn a point on the evening.
