ESPANOLA, Ont. – Benjamin Lacroix’s second goal of the game, coming in the back half of the third period, proved to be the game-winner, as the Espanola Paper Kings went on to defeat the Powassan Voodoos 4-1 Friday in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League get together at the Regional Recreation Complex.
Action in the opening frame saw the two sides trade tallies 16 seconds apart to begin things offensively.
Mathieu Savignac provided Powassan the lead at 14:15, only to see Lacroix counter quickly for Espanola on the next shift.
Still tied at 1-1 entering the second period, the fast-paced session was scoreless as the teams his the intermission still in search of a go-ahead marker.
That tally did eventually come at 12:58 of the third as the Paper Kings’ Blake Peters-Davey dashed out of his own zone, in transition, down the right wing before cutting across to his left then sending a feed back over to Lacroix who redirected the eventual difference maker past Voodoos’ netminder Kannon Flageolle.
Getting late empty net markers from long range in the final minute from Joshua Rumolo and Liam Bridgeman secured the home-ice triumph.
Collecting the win in net for Espanola was Mitchell Webb, his first in the NOJHL, while Flageolle suffered the narrow defeat.
