ESPANOLA, Ont. – Needing Ben Sherwin’s second goal of the game, that came with 1:39 remaining in the third period, helped the Iroquois Falls Storm to survive a late Espanola Paper Kings rally before eventually prevailing 5-4 Friday in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League match-up at the Regional Recreation Complex.
Converting on an early power play, Sherwin whistled a rising wrister high past Paper Kings’ netminder Jack Helkie from the left circle.
Answering with an equalizer before the midway mark of first period, Colton Loiselle drew the home side level as he kept a play in the visitors end and while skating down the side boards ripped a shot through traffic that found the top right hand corner on goalkeeper Alex Hall.
Going back on top four and a half minutes later Alex Bedic of Iroquois Falls was allowed to split the Espanola defence off a Benjamin Coupal pass and went in making a couple of crafty moves in the process before converting.
Adding another on a late man advantage, the Storm took a 3-1 lead into the intermission when Owen Goodwin went hard to net with bodies piled up and stuffed in his first NOJHL tally at 18:51.
Action in the second stanza saw the guests convert once more and saw Lucas Willoughby drive down the left wing then muscle his way to the net and take his chance wide before finishing off a tally that gives him points in six straight games.
Roaring back in the final frame, the Paper Kings banged three markers in span of eight minutes and 31 seconds to even the score at 4-4.
The initial marker in the session was eventually credited to Espanola’s Carter Brownlee after it was deemed by the officials that his chance in close had indeed crossed the goal line for his first in the NOJHL at 6:47.
A couple of shifts later Joseph Coates struck shorthanded as he steered in low feed put to the net by Wyatt Farries to run a point streak to nine.
They then tied it at 15:18 when Cameron Menard scored for a ninth straight game with a sharp wrist shot from the left of Hall.
However the Storm regrouped and got the eventual game-winner late from Sherwin who collected a flip pass from Landon Trethewey then chipped it past a defender before wiring a shot over the glove of Helkie to prevent the Paper Kings rally from being completed.
The hosts did get their goaltender out for an extra skater in the final minute, but the Storm held firm at the end to pull out the road triumph.
