Wildcats and Crunch battle to 4-4 double OT draw

NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE

NOJHL NETWORK MEDIA UPDATE

Release Date: Friday, Nov. 20, 2015

Wildcats and Crunch battle to 4-4 double OT draw

ELLIOT LAKE, Ont. – A pair of late third period goals helped the Cochrane Crunch battle back to earn a 4-4 double overtime draw with the Elliot Lake Wildcats Friday night in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League match-up at Centennial Arena.

The game was scoreless through the opening 20 minutes as Cochrane netminder Brett Young and his Elliot Lake counterpart Al Rogers stymied opposing shooters.

It was the visitors who would open the scoring 9:14 into the second as John Stevenson tallied for the 13th time this season for the Crunch.

The Wildcats countered on Ty Hannaford’s fourth of the campaign at 12:32 then took the lead four and a half minutes later on a Curtis Rawn effort.

Elliot Lake extended their cushion to two as Cole Hepler scored unassisted at 2:53 into the third.

Hunter Atchison pulled the visitors closer as he struck shorthanded at 7:39.

Alec MacKenzie restored the Wildcats two-goal lead with half a period to play as they took a 4-2 lead.

Cochrane’s Jon Marzec cut into the deficit with 4:30 to play in regulation and then notched the tying tally with 16 seconds remaining as Atchison buried his second of the night and league-leading 27th of the season to salvage a point for his side.

Shane Woolsey had two assists for Elliot Lake on the night.

The goaltenders shut the door in each of the two, five-minute OT sessions as the contest ended in a tie.

Shots on goal favoured the Wildcats by a 46-34 margin.