Photos: Northern Lights Photography
HEARST, Ont. – A Bronson Babyak marker, 1:49 into overtime, was the decider as the Hearst Lumberjacks came back to clip the Greater Sudbury Cubs 5-4 Friday in a back-and-forth Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League contest at Claude Larose Recreation Centre.
The hometown Lumberjacks got on the board near the midway point of the opening frame when they pushed a play ahead in the neutral zone, which allowed Liam Boswell to slide a feed across that found Tyler Patterson, who stuffed a backhand in on Cubs’ goalkeeper Noah Beaulne.
Greater Sudbury came back to tie it at 14:35 when Samuel Assinewai worked his way to the high slot and fired an attempt that was neatly redirected in by Lucas Signoretti, for his first with his new club.
It was more from Signoretti late in the frame as his chipped a puck ahead and went in on a shorthanded breakaway and slid it through the legs of Hearst’s Alexandre Boivin.
The guests kept it going and went up by a pair in the second, thanks to Ben Harris driving in and wiring a chance for his initial marker of the campaign.
A chance to hit a hat trick, Signoretti snagged a turnover and went in, only to be denied by a couple of big pad saves turned in by Boivin.
Buoyed by that, Hearst made it 3-2 at 10:22 with Patterson neatly setting up Mathieu Comeau parked to the right of Beaulne, where he quickly slammed it home.
The Lumberjacks then drew level in the late stages of the session when Boswell made a nice back feed from the end boards right to Comeau who converted from a sharp angle for his second of the evening.
Retaking the lead halfway through the third, Cameron Shanks wired one blocker side to put Greater Sudbury ahead.
Answering with an equalizer, Hearst pulled even when Adam Shillinglaw sent a pass along the blueline where a waiting Jean-Pierre Audras one-timed a drive that found its way in at 15:37.
Heading to OT, Babyak won it as he scooped up a clearing attempt off the boards then drove down the right side and buried the game-winner to end it.
The Lumberjacks are back at it Saturday as they host Powassan while the Cubs head to Iroquois Falls in a pair of 7:30 p.m. starts.
