Game Photos: Dal Photography
FRENCH RIVER – A Levi Siau effort proved to be the only conversion in the shootout as the French River Rapids held off the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners 4-3 in a tightly-contested Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League affair Friday at Noelville Arena.
Each side would convert once in the opening frame with French River’s Siau making a nice rush up ice, then got it over to Griffin Simpson, who was denied, but Cooper Bowman was right there to blast in his 15th of the season from between the hash marks.
Siau’s assist helped him extend a consecutive game point streak to a current NOJHL-high 13 in succession.
Answering back half way through the first, Ryan Evenhuis finished off a John-Paul Scaringi chance from the left of the crease.
Action in the second stanza saw the hosts go back on top off a strong rush up the ice by Leo Chambers, who is turn fed Dominik Godin, allowing him to fire one under Kirkland Lake’s Keaton Lyons.
Coming back again the Gold Miners levelled the proceedings once more on a Luca Maiuri effort at 16:03 as he was presented a feed in front and patiently lifted a back hand over the glove of French River goalkeeper Justin Dilauro.
Moving to the third, Kirkland Lake struck shorthanded thanks to Camille Marcoux being set-up by Jacob Hiltz at 10:43.
Then down a skater themselves, Godin provided a man-down effort of his own right after that as he reached the 20-goal plateau on the season as he was fed in the slot and flipped a shot over the stick of Lyons and in.
Despite some quality chances in the five-minute overtime, neither club would convert, thus sending it to extra shots to decide things.
There, Siau buried his chance on the Rapids first attempt while Dilauro stood tall to deny all three Gold Miners’ opportunity to secure the home ice victory.
He made 35 saves in regulation and OT while Lyons handled 41 of 44 in helping his side pick up a point in defeat.
