Photos: Rob Fera – Points North Media
SUDBURY, Ont. – The Kirkland Lake Gold Miners built up a three-goal lead half-way through the third period, then had to withstand a furious push by the Hearst Lumberjacks before eventually prevailing 5-4 Wednesday afternoon in a hard-fought Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League Showcase contest at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.
The lone goal in the opening frame came 15 minutes in when Hearst’s Preston Charron collected his initial NOJHL tally as he was sent in alone off a headman pass from Royce Abraham and snapped his chance over the blocker of Kirkland Lake starter Asher Ammann.
Carrying the play and pulling even at 5:09 of the second period, Ben Lyons drew the Gold Miners level as he won a draw back to the point that led to him to eventually being set-up by Lex Lamontagne and sending a shot into the top right corner that beat Lumberjacks’ netminder Jack Helkie.
Building on that, they took the lead a couple of shifts later and saw Mason Brownlee score for a second-straight game as Owen O’Grady knocked down a puck in his own zone that guided his teammate in alone on a breakaway that he ripped his chance upstairs over the glove of Helkie.
Another lengthy Abraham assist saw him send an attempt from deep in his own territory off the side boards that bounced through a defender’s legs that allowed Dylan Westmann to go in, and while being obstructed on a delayed penalty, chipped his chance over the glove of Ammann and in for his seventh of the season.
Coming back to retake the lead, O’Grady sent one to the target that was stopped, but Mavrick Boucher was right there to deposit the loose puck laying along the goal line at 16:56.
Not done there, Boucher clicked again in the final minute when he took a feed from Jacob Demers and went in unchallenged on Helkie and promptly buried his in-close opportunity.
Heading to the third period, the Miners kept it going and made it 5-2 when O’Grady jumped up in a play that generated a two-on-one saw him take a pass from Boucher and snap it in.
Ammann thwarted a breakaway after that to keep his side up by three.
Inching closer though with half the final session to go, Hearst’s Luc Warner took a cross-ice feed from Cameron Menard in the high slot and went on to wire it into the left corner.
After killing off a penalty, the Jacks got back to within one as they pressured a turnover that led to an odd-man rush where Theo Bourdon-Lemoyne opted to shoot while wheeling down the right wing and sent a sizzler past Ammann with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation.
Then with their goaltender out for an extra attacker, Hearst battled hard for an equalizer to send it to overtime, but Kirkland Lake held firm defensively as time expired to secure the victory.
Player of the Game nods went to Boucher and Abraham.
With the result, the Gold Miners win their third straight and improve to 6-1-1-0 overall, while in defeat, the Lumberjacks fall to 4-5-0-0.
