Photos: Northern Lights Photography
HEARST, Ont. – A Mathieu Comeau man advantage marker, 2:07 into overtime, was the decider as the Hearst Lumberjacks held off the Soo Eagles 4-3 Friday in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League contest Friday at Claude Larose Recreation Centre.
Some chances at either end in the first period saw neither side convert offensively as the clubs went to their respective dressing rooms for the intermission still in search of the night’s initial tally.
An early power play in the second stanza saw Hearst open the scoring when Damien Bourdon-Lemoyne came out from behind the net and pounced on a rebound off a Liam Boswell attempt and ripped it past Sault Ste. Marie netminder Mason Burkes.
Running a consecutive game point streak to seven, Aiden Kalin made it 2-0 Hearst as he corralled a loose puck off a scrambled draw and lifted a backhand high over a downed Burkes at 8:08.
The Lumberjacks kept it going a few minutes later when Julien Trudel kept a play in the Eagles end and worked it to Boswell who wired an attempt into the top right-hand corner.
Battling back late in the session, the Soo struck twice to pull within one after 40 minutes.
Alex Povorozniouk tipped a Cole Wreggitt left point shot out of mid-air, which eluded Hearst goalkeeper Alexander Boivin, to make it 3-1.
The assist for Wreggitt helped him extend a point streak to five straight games.
They then saw Cooper Fredericks connect with 13 seconds left in the session as he was sent in alone on a breakaway by Lucas Caulfield and after a couple of quick dekes, cut to his left and lifted a backhand over the outstretched pad of Boivin.
Building on their momentum, the Eagles drew level early in the third period as Lucas Pouliot jammed in a loose puck that Boivin could not contain off a Landon Stevens shot.
With they score staying that way into OT, Hearst pulled out the win while up a skater as Boswell patiently fed a pass across to Comeau who had plenty of net to shoot at before depositing the game-winner to end it.
The victory sees the Lumberjacks raise their record to 8-3-0-0.
Picking up a point in the setback, the Eagles moved to 5-4-1-0.
