ESPANOLA, Ont. – The Rayside-Balfour Canadians rallied from three-goal, third period deficit to come back late and force overtime, then eventually notch the lone marker in the shootout, to pull out a 4-3 victory over the Espanola Express in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League match-up Friday at the Regional Recreation Complex.
Espanola picked up the lone goal of the first period as Chase Lammi secured his 11th goal of the season, which came at 18:21.
It was more Express midway through the second stanza as Joshua Ernst made it 2-0.
They then went up by three early in the third when Diego Pasula scored on the power play.
Rayside-Balfour began their comeback from there starting with an Alexander Fowke effort.
Matthew Dokis-Dupuis then brought the visitors to within one at 13:34 as the rookie forward collected his 16th of the campaign.
The Canadians then forced OT with just under four minutes remaining in regulation thanks to the equalizer provided by Brady Maltais, who too scored for a 16th time in 2018-19.
After a scoreless extra session, Rayside-Balfour captain Evan Krassey supplied the lone tally in the shootout to help give his side the come from behind win.
Canadians goaltender David Bowen made 38 saves as well as all three he faced in extra shots to record the triumph.
Espanola netminder finished with 35 stops in defeat to help the Express earn a point despite the setback.
