COCHRANE, Ont. – A Tristan Taillefer tally 48 seconds into overtime was the difference as the Cochrane Crunch held off a late rally by the Blind River Beavers to prevail with a 4-3 triumph in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League play Thursday at Tim Horton Events Centre.
An early power play helped the visiting Beavers gain the upper hand as Riley Brosseau picked up his sixth of the season 2:17 into the game.
Cochrance countered with the equalizer eight and a half minutes into the first thanks to Justin Bofshever to knot the affair after one period of play.
Bofshever also scored in the middle session as his second of the evening and third in total put the home side in front 2:02 in to the frame.
It stayed 2-1 Crunch until 12:49 of the third when Andy Antiles struck on the power play in his NOJHL debut to put the hosts up by a pair.
Battling back, Blind River trimmed the deficit just 19 seconds later with Andrew Warhoftig also picking up his initial league goal.
They then forced extra time during a late man advantage when Dante Cavaliere tied it with just under three minutes left in regulation.
However, Cochrane regrouped quickly in OT as Taillefer was the hero as his effort won it and gave his side the extra point on the night.
A pair of Caleb’s in Dolman for the Crunch and Serre of Blind River both had two assists in the contest.
Shots on goal favoured Cochrane by a 40-37 margin with Zach Wickson picking up the win while Garret Boyonoski’s efforts helped his squad pick up a point.
