Kirkland Lake rallies for OT win in Cochrane

COCHRANE, Ont. – The Kirkland Lake Gold Miners rallied from a two-goal third period deficit, then saw Alex McDonald connect midway through overtime, to lead them to a 4-3 come from behind triumph over the Cochrane Crunch Saturday in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League play at Tim Horton Events Centre.

An action-packed finish in the final minute of the first period saw each team tally once.

Cochrane got the night’s initial marker at 19:36 as Morgan Parker spun on the right side and fired a shot past Kirkland Lake netminder Braydon Garnhart for his first NOJHL goal.

Coming right back off the draw, Matthew Hill clicked for the Gold Miners, just nine seconds later, as he stuffed in a loose puck laying in the crease.

Play in the middle session saw Christian Shields convert at 5:18 when he fired a shot from the left boards, just inside the blueline, that sailed through a partial screen and beat Garnhart.

Another Crunch tally was provided deep in the stanza as Liam Boswell completed a nice give-and-go with teammate Cameron Frost while they were shorthanded.

Pulling back to within one in the third, Kirkland Lake’s Ken Taylor capitalized on a goal-mouth scramble off a William Neeld attempt from the right point for his opening goal in league play.

The Gold Miners then drew level with 4:28 remaining in regulation when Chance DeBolt powered his way down the right wing and neatly picked the left side corner to help send it to extra time.

In the OT, McDonald found himself all alone in front of the net as the puck came to him where he buried the game-winner over Ouellet’s blocker to complete the comeback and collect his club’s first victory of the season.