NEWS RELEASE
NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
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A strong home-ice effort helped the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners collect their initial Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League triumph of the season at Joe Mavrinac Community Complex Saturday in downing the Soo Eagles 4-3.
Meanwhile, the victory between the pipes for Kirkland Lake goaltender Caleb Shuker was his first in league play.
The hometown Gold Miners opened the scoring 5:39 into things when Inde Abresch was left with a tap-in off a point attempt from the right side by Griffin Jannes, who was making his NOJHL debut.
Kirkland Lake notched another late in the first period when Mason Brownlee pressured a turnover in the neutral zone, then went down the left side and fired a shot that was stopped, but Abresch was right there to knock in the rebound.
Action in the second stanza saw Sault Ste. Marie get on the board three minutes in when Benjamin Pouliot darted down the right wing and ripped a short-side sizzler past Shuker.
Getting that back, Brownlee wheeled down the slot and while using a defender as screen, wired a shot past the Eagles’ Mason Burkes.
Countering, Pouliot brought the Soo back to within one again as he lifted in a loose puck from the left side.
Back and forth they went as Abresch scored for a third time on the night when he worked his way free at the top of the crease and had plenty of room to find the back of the net.
Continuing to trade tallies, Eagles’ defenceman Cole Wreggitt made it a 4-3 game through two periods after he jumped in from the point and snapped in a shot from the slot.
In the third, neither side would convert offensively before time expired to give the Gold Miners the win.
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