Photos: Northern Exposures Photography
ELLIOT LAKE, Ont. – Breaking open a tie game with three goals in the final six minutes of regulation, the Espanola Paper Kings went on to outlast the Elliot Lake Vikings 7-4 Saturday night in a penalty-laden Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League affair at Rogers Arena.
The visiting Paper Kings opened the scoring early the contest when Luka Boggio generated a turnover along the end boards and put a pass in front that Carter Drigo put past Vikings’ starter William Ross for his ninth of the campaign.
Elliot Lake came right back to tie it with Aleksander Duguay potting the equalizer from a sharp angle as he slammed home a loose puck from the right of Espanola netminder Cameron Millar.
Countering to retake the lead on a man advantage, Paper Kings’ rookie Denver Mulligan took a feed into the left circle from defenceman Tayden Smith and wired it in through a screen.
Moving to the middle session, the home side pulled even once more thanks to Armando Rojo-Bolton at 1:07 as he opted to shoot on an odd-man rush and ripped it past Millar.
Taking their first lead of the night, Elliot Lake defenceman Dane Skillings wired a shot into the top left corner on a power play, only to see Drigo rip in his second of the evening from the slot as the clubs went back and forth.
Sitting 3-3 into the third, another lead change resulted when Sam Piette bagged a shorthanded tally at 1:38 for Espanola as he blasted in a drive from the right side.
Kieran Prichett squared the affair once more for the hosts midway through the final frame, as he outmuscled a pair of defenders for the puck and fired it in from between the circles.
Breaking the tie for good, Isaac Bandoo got the eventual game-winner with 5:46 to go with a sizzler that went top shelf from the right wing.
Emerson De Giacomo then lifted one in from the slot and Piette, clicked by finishing off his own rebound, to add insurance markers from there to close out the road result for the Paper Kings.
