COCHRANE, Ont. – The Hearst Lumberjacks got two goals from Mathieu Comeau Friday as part of a 5-2 victory over the Cochrane Crunch in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League contest at Tim Horton Events Centre.
Coming out on an odd-man rush nearing the six-minute mark of the first period, Hearst converted as Emile Pichette lifted a feed into the slot where Comeau took it to the net and slid it by Cochrane goalkeeper Jake Dubinsky.
With the assist, it helped Pichette raise a consecutive-game point streak to seven in succession.
Coming back to tie it on the power play, a couple of shifts later, Jenry Yibb patiently waited at the top of the left circle before snapping a shot upstairs, short side, past a screened Kaleb Papineau in the Lumberjacks net.
Regaining the lead with a man advantage effort of their own late in the frame, the visitors sharply passed the puck around before Comeau notched his second of the stanza while parked in front of Dubinsky.
Hearst then went up 3-1 as the midway point of the proceedings approached when Cody Walker collected his ninth of the season after he got a piece of a Noah Janicki wrister from the right point.
After Pichette made it 4-1 early in the third off a nice redirection via a Bortkiewicz back pass, Jett Mintenko added to the cushion at 11:43 as he took a play wide then came back to tuck his chance in.
Ben Sherman did get one back for the Crunch off a nice move made on a rush before steering in a loose puck in what proved to be the evening final tally.
The win moves Hearst to 31-10-2-0 on the season while Cochrane sinks to 6-34-1-1.
