TIMMINS - The Kirkland Lake Gold Miners picked up another important win Friday night as they doubled the Abitibi Eskis 4-2 at the Archie Dillon Sportsplex in Timmins.
The first period was largely dominated by Abitibi as the Eskimos oppressed Kirkland Lake with several odd-man rushes in the first 20 minutes. “We came out flat-footed in the first and gave up eight odd-man rushes, which is not customary for us,” said Gold Miners head coach and general manager Marc Lafleur. “But at the same time you’ve got to give them credit they came out storming.” Peter Poulin-Roy was responsible for the Eskimos first goal 11:53 into the game in front of the large crowd at the sportsplex. The Eskimos rode the momentum into the first intermission. Defenseman Ryan Kerr picked up his first goal of the season making it 2-0 for the Eskimos 13:13 into the second period with Ryan Wildman registering the helper. At times Abitibi looked like they were maintaining the momentum in the second, which tends to be a difficult period for club this season, but two costly penalties swayed to tide in favour of Kirkland Lake. Powerplay goals from Joey Ftoma and Jordan Briand drew the Gold Miners even with the home team heading into the second intermission. “We weathered what they threw at us shift by shift and we were able to capitalize on a few extra chances that they weren’t able to,” said Lafleur. Through two periods the Eskimos dominated the shot total firing 24 shots at Gold Miners netminder Chris Komma who increased his win total on the season to 10 and maintained his sub 3.00 goals against average rating. “I’m proud of the fact that we adjusted,” said Lafleur. “It’s a long game and we were patient. Abitibi played well defensively, but tonight our goaltending really helped us. ”Kirkland Lake forward Everett Thompson beat Eskimos goalie Marc Audet at the 5:19 mark of the third to register the game winning goal when it was all said and done. Gold Miners forward Royce King added the insurance goal with less than four minutes to play in the contest.
The Miners are back at home next Friday when they host Elliot Lake
