PHOTOS: DAWSTAR PHOTOS
POWASSAN, Ont. – A Chase Thompson tally 5:39 into the third period proved to be the game-winner as the Powassan Voodoos went on to defeat the Cochrane Crunch 4-2 Saturday in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League match-up at the Powassan Sportsplex.
A scoreless opening 20 minutes saw the two sides reach the first intermission, much in part due to the efforts of the night’s starting goaltenders, Cochrane’s Jake Dubinsky and Powassan’s Kannon Flageolle.
The middle stanza saw the Voodoos take flight though at 4:07 when Ryan Patrick broke in on a shorthanded chance after breaking up a play at his own blueline before racing through a pair of Crunch defenders and placing a low shot through the legs of Dubinsky for his eighth marker of the campaign.
Then late in the session, Tucker Shields made it 2-0 for the home side as he made nifty play by letting loose with a quick release from off the side boards and neatly picked a corner to give him a dozen tallies on the year.
Action in the final period saw Cochrane come out with a purpose and get on the board less than a minute in thanks to Xavier Brooks’ impressive move from the right point that saw him cut around a Powassan player then drive to the net where a shot he let loose went top shelf on Flageolle.
The Voodoos regained their two-tally edge five minutes later though as Thompson slid down the left side just as a Crunch penalty was expiring and steered in a cross-ice pass from Jack Kelly.
The hosts then helped secure the win with a man advantage effort from Nicholas Liotino, who skated the slot from the side boards and put in a wrist shot with 12:29 to play.
Getting one back in the latter stages, Blake Menard took a Jonathan Hutorsky pass between the circles and buried his chance, in what proved to be the night’s final marker.
With the result, Powassan puts an end to a two-game winless rut while a modest Cochrane winning streak comes to a close.
