FILE PHOTO by Allyson Demers
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – A Yosef Pievsky goal in the fifth round of the shootout proved to be the difference as the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners rallied from a three-tally deficit to defeat the Soo Thunderbirds 6-5 Saturday evening in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League action at John Rhodes Community Centre.
The hometown Thunderbirds began the scoring five and a half minutes into the matchup when Makks Demidovich snapped in a loose puck through bodies while parked between the circles in beating a screened Asher Ammann in the Gold Miners net.
More from Sault Ste. Marie at 13:25 featured Dreyon Boissoneau lifting one through a maze from the point off a face-off win in the Kirkland Lake zone.
Still 2-0 T-Birds into the second stanza, they tacked on another a couple minutes in thanks to Felix Sapay as he sent one upstairs after the Soo controlled another draw.
The Gold Miners got one back right after that as Lucas Debois rattled in a loose puck laying to the left side on Thunderbirds’ goalkeeper Cameron Boville.
Matching that in quick order, Adam Pszeniczny reached double digits with his 10th goal of the season with a nice deflection off a Vincent Bondy attempt from up high.
A fourth goal in under a five-minute span saw Ben Lyons strike shorthanded for the visitors when he went to the net and knocked in a pass put his way from Matthew Neuman.
Heading to the third period, the Gold Miners got to within one at 3:48 as Mason Brownlee moved to the middle and fired a shot off the post and in on Boville.
Continuing to battle, Kirkland Lake drew level thanks to another from Brownlee as he chipped in pass put to the top of the crease from down low by Jacob Demers.
After the Soo’s Landon Hill clicked on the power play with four minutes to go, Neuman countered for the Gold Miners 18 seconds later to help force OT.
In the extra session, neither side would convert to send it to extra attempts.
There, after the Miners’ Tysen Anderson and the Soo’s Gavin Killoran both scored on each team’s third shot, Pievsky went in on Kirkland Lake’s fifth chance and promptly ripped it past Boville.
Then one final stop by Ammann completed the come from behind victory.
With the result, the Gold Miners win their fifth straight outing, improving to 8-1-1-0 overall.
In getting a point in the setback, the Thunderbirds record moves to 9-2-0-2.
