KIRKLAND LAKE, Ont. – Gregory Trudeau-Paquet , Aiden Wagner and Vinnie DeSanctis had three points apiece Friday night as the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners defeated the Soo Thunderbirds 4-1 in a battle between the top two teams in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League standings at the Joe Mavrinac Community Complex.
The home side would open the scoring 12 and a half minutes into the contest as Trudeau-Paquet and Desanctis combined to set-up Wagner for his for his 1st of two on the night.
Kirkland Lake then went up by a pair 4:38 into the middle stanza thanks again to Wagner with Trudeau-Paquet & DeSanctis picking up their second assists of the night.
Sault Ste. Marie cut into the deficit before the second period came to a close as Noah Boman scored for a 17th time on the season to bring the guests to within one.
Matthew Brassard’s first of the campaign added some insurance for the Gold Miners early in the third before Trudeau-Paquet helped secure the victory midway through the final frame.
Kirkland Lake goaltender Gregory Brassard made 27 stops to record the win while Soo netminder Colin Ahern faced 23 attempts in defeat.
With the result, the 26-10-1-0 Gold Miners moved into a tie for top spot in the overall NOJHL standings with the 26-9-0-1 Thunderbirds as the two teams now boast 53 points each on the year.
Photos courtesy of CapturingTheMoment.ca
