Hearst hands Powassan 1st loss with OT triumph

HEARST, Ont. – Max Griffioen’s second goal of the game, coming with 93 seconds remaining in overtime, propelled the Hearst Lumberjacks to a dramatic 3-2 victory over the Powassan Voodoos in front of 741 fans Saturday in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League action at Claude Larose Arena.

The hometown Lumberjacks picked up the lone tally in the first period as Griffioen connected on the power play at 12:02.

After a scoreless second stanza, Powassan drew level early in the third as Cameron Moore collected his first of the campaign.

The Voodoos then went in front with 11:11 to go during a man advantage chance as Cade Herd collected his sixth goal of the campaign.

Hearst however came back to force extra time when Mathew Eardley’s first NOJHL goal knotted the affair at 2-2 with 6:55 remaining in regulation.

Moving on to OT and with the two sides skating three players each, the fast-paced action saw Lumberjacks’ netminder Nicholas Tallarico make a number of outstanding saves to keep his club in it.

Buoyed by the stellar play of the netminder, Hearst would come back and win it on a two-on-one as Jake Desando and Griffioen both drove to the net with the latter firing a quick backhand that beat Powassan starter Christian Cicigoi at 3:27 to end it.

Tallarico made 28 saves to record the win for Hearst who improved to 3-3-0-0 on the season.

Cicigoi suffered the setback and faced 30 shots against as Powassan saw their season-opening win streak end at six as they slipped to 6-0-1-0 overall while still having 13 of a possible 14 points to begin the season.

Photos courtesy of  Highway Eleven &Co.