Photos: Allyson Demers
KIRKLAND LAKE, Ont. – The Hearst Lumberjacks picked up multi-point efforts from Tyler Patterson and Emile Pichette to help pace them to a 6-2 decision over the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League game Sunday afternoon at Joe Mavrinac Community Complex.
Hearst got the game’s opening goal 11 and a half minutes into the contest after Pichette forced a turnover and fed Patterson going to the net, who made a couple of quick moves then snapped in his 22nd tally of the season over the outstretched pad of Kirkland Lake starter Braydon Garnhart.
With the assist, Pichette now has points in six straight outings.
There was more from the Lumberjacks forward in the final moments of the frame as he clicked on the power play at 19:55 by steering in a cross-crease pass by Patterson.
Second period play saw the visitors go up by three early as an errant clearing attempt found the tape of Mason Svarich, who was left with all kinds to time to fire one from between the hash marks past Garnhart.
It was more from Hearst midway through the match-up when Patterson teed up Brandan Tronchin from behind the goal line and saw him collect his ninth of the campaign.
Not done there, Riley Klugerman made it 5-0 as he connected with another close-range effort, as the teams skate four aside.
Getting one back in the waning moments of the frame, Jake King snagged a puck behind the net and got it to Benjamin Armatage, who chipped it over the blocker of Lumberjacks’ goalkeeper Kaleb Papineau at 19:46.
In the third, Kirkland Lake capitalized on another turnover deep in the Hearst zone, which allowed Chance DeBolt to slide one by Papineau in the late going to make it closer.
However, the guests wrapped up the scoring in the final minute as Cameron Shepheard skated down the left wing and slid in his first NOJHL goal, which was put into an empty net.
The victory was Hearst’s 30th of the season as they improved to Lumberjacks 30-10-2-0, while the Gold Miners fell to 5-34-1-0.