NEWS RELEASE
NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
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Storming back from a third period deficit, the Elliot Lake Vikings came back to down the Blind River Beavers 6-4 in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League match-up held at Massey and District Community Arena.
Blind River opened the scoring during a man advantage as Owen King fired a cross-ice feed that was quickly slammed in by Aaron Dukeshire.
The assist gives King points in eight straight outings.
The Beavers then made it 2-0 before the contest was 10 minutes old with Isaiah Allen notching his initial NOJHL tally off a wrist shot from the right point that bounced past Vikings’ netminder Brogan Colquhoun.
Elliot Lake did have a chance to get on the board at 11:28, however Dylan Hendrick was thwarted on a penalty shot attempt.
Trimming the deficit in half, just 20 seconds into the middle frame, Kaiden Emond snagged a loose puck behind the net and backhanded it in front where Ivan Kedrov chipped it by Beavers’ goalkeeper Connor Dunham-Fox.
Coming right back, Blind River went up by two once more, just over a minute later when King fired a shot from the high slot that found the top corner.
All business to begin the third, the Vikings banged in a couple of quick markers to knot the affair at 3-3.
Anthony Bertrand got the second goal for his club during a frenzied scramble in the crease as he chipped in a loose puck with multiple bodies battling in front.
Callum Millar then tied it a 3:25 after Elliot Lake countered in transition and saw a shot hit off the end boards and come out the other side where the opportunistic forward stuffed it in.
The Vikings kept coming and took the lead five minutes later on a power play as Emond fed Hendrick in close, who promptly fired it past Dunham-Fox.
Hendrick then connected once more midway through the session as he forced a turnover at his own blueline then drove down the left wing where he slid a low shot under Dunham-Fox for the eventual difference maker.
King got Blind River closer at 18:10 as he ripped one upstairs from the top of the right circle to make it interesting, but Yenry Jibb iced it for Elliot Lake with a late empty netter to secure the come from behind victory.
The win helps the Vikings improve to 4-9-0-0 on the season and with the loss, the Beavers fall to 10-6-1-0.
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