Photos: Northern Lights Photography
HEARST, Ont. – Breaking open a tie game, late in the second period, the high-scoring Hearst Lumberjacks went on to defeat the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners 7-3 Friday in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League play at Claude Larose Recreation Centre.
Taking an early lead, Kirkland Lake broke out on a two-on-one that saw Aaron Leenaars guide a rush down the left side and wire a shot past Hearst’s Owen Bonthuis, 72 seconds in.
The Lumberjacks tied it a couple of shifts later when Ty McKay stuffed in a loose puck during a scramble in front, beating Gold Miners’ goaltender Caleb Shuker.
Retaking the lead at 11:39, Jordan Fitger corralled a big rebound and fed Leenaars who knocked in his second of the period.
Answering with another equalizer before the first intermission, Sam Taylor snapped a shot from the right circle that found its way through Shuker.
Heading to the middle frame, Hearst went in front for the first time when Aidan Kalin took play wide late in the session and fired an attempt to the target that leaked through the Kirkland Lake goalkeeper and trickled across the goal line.
Skating in his 200th NOJHL game, Hearst’s Mathieu Comeau helped his club go up by two in the final stanza as wheeled around the perimeter with a couple of crafty moves before sliding a feed to Liam Boswell, who quickly swatted in his 12th tally of the season and the 60th of his career, coming with 11 and a half minutes remaining.
Going ahead by three, the Lumberjacks’ Owen Hay finished off a nice multiple passing play by wiring it home.
Reaching the 20-goal plateau for a third consecutive season, Tyler Patterson took a cross-ice set-up from Comeau and cranked in a one-timer to make it 6-2.
Still battling, the Miners’ Alexander Sackett darted down the right wing with speed and had plenty of the left corner to shoot at, which is where he buried the puck.
Hearst countered to round out the scoring before time expired, compliments of a Damien Bourdon-Lemoyne wrister from the slot, in what the Lumberjack’s 200th marker of the season, which leads the league.
