NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
NOJHL NETWORK MEDIA UPDATE
Release Date: Friday, Jan. 22, 2016
Iroquois Falls rallies to edge Espanola in 2nd OT
ESPANOLA, Ont. – A Blake Holowaty goal 19 seconds into double overtime helped the Iroquois Falls Eskis rally for a 6-5 come from behind victory over the Espanola Express Friday in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League action at the Regional Recreation Complex.
Espanola did get off to a solid start in the contest grabbing a 2-0 lead before the five-minute mark.
Jason Bednarski got the Express on the board 83 seconds in while teammate Riley Nadeau added to the cushion at 4:30.
Iroquois Falls cut into the deficit in the late stages of the frame as David Stickney collected his third of the campaign at 19:35.
Bednarski’s second of the night put the home side back up by a pair midway through the second period before Zack Lund’s first NOJHL tally pulled the Eskis back to within one at 13:44 to make it 3-2 after 40 minutes.
The Express extended their cushion in the early stages of the third as Riley Nadeau scored at 2:38.
Battling back, the Eskis struck twice in a span of 27 seconds to knot the affair at 4-4 getting markers off the sticks of Shadow Reuben and Josh Dejulio.
Regrouping, Espanola retook the lead with 9:05 remaining in regulation as Bednarski finished off his hat trick.
The back-and-forth affair saw the Eskis force extra time with 27 seconds left in regulation as Reuben notched the equalizer with his second of the night.
After a scoreless first OT, Holowaty won it early in the second extra session notching the game-winner with the two sides skating three players aside to complete the comeback by the guests.
David Osborne dished out three assists for Iroquois Falls to aid their offensive cause with Benarski and Nadeau picking up points on all five of the Express goals.
Eskis starter Matthew Camilleri finished with 56 stops on the night to earn the win.
Espanola’s Kevin Labelle faced 36 attempts in defeat on a night where the Express picked up a point in defeat.