Photos: Gary Rosevear
HEARST, Ont. – Tyler Patterson scored twice, including collecting the eventual game-winner Saturday, in a 4-1 victory over the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners in a second straight Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League meeting for the two teams at Claude Larose Recreation Centre.
After the Gold Miners came away with a road-win Friday, the home side found their scoring touch in the back-half of the opening frame in this one, when recently acquired Hearst forward DonHeaven Veilleux motored down the right wing then ripped a rising short side shot over the shoulder of Kirkland Lake netminder Trent Boryszczuk at 13:23.
The Lumberjacks then added another three minutes after that with Patterson pumping one in from the right circle off an Adam Shillinglaw feed.
In the second stanza, the hosts tacked on another early on with Aiden Kalin finishing off a nice set-up by Patterson to the right of the net.
A late power play helped the Gold Miners get on the board at 18:53 of the period with Bruce Grey sending a low seeing-eye shot that got under the pad of Hearst’s Tristan Boileau.
In the third, Patterson helped secure the home-ice triumph with a shorthanded empty netter as he wheeled along the side wall and notched his second of the evening with a well-placed effort from just inside the Gold Miners’ blueline to cap off the scoring.
The win moves the Lumberjacks back over the .500 mark on the season at 10-9-3-1 while in defeat Kirkland Lake drops to 6-14-3-1.
