ELLIOT LAKE, Ont. – Capping off the week-long road trip, the Cochrane Crunch got two goals apiece from Owen Perala and Nicholas Grandy to help them defeat the Elliot Lake Wildcats 4-2 Sunday in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League meeting at Centennial Arena.
The first frame saw it go scoreless despite Cochrane pumping 17 shots on Elliot Lake starting netminder Dominic Boily while Zach Wickson in the Crunch net handled all nine attempts he faced in the session.
The visitors continued to apply pressure, firing another 22 attempts on Boily in the second stanza, but it was the Wildcats’ Robert Carr who opened the scoring midway through the frame as he picked up his third of the campaign.
Cochrane finally solved the Elliot Lake stopper late in the period when Perala connected at 19:28 to knot the affair at 1-1 after two.
Perala’s second of the contest just over five minutes into the third put the visitors in front while Grandy notched the eventual game-winner with a power play marker at 14:30.
Elliot Lake did get one back a couple shifts later courtesy of Eric Vanderhoff’s team-leading 11th to make it a one-goal match-up once more.
However, Grandy helped secure the decision for the Crunch in the late going with his seventh overall, which rounded out the scoring.
Perala also added two assists for a four-point performance while Owen Kruse and Connor Taylor contributed two helpers apiece for the Wildcats.
Wickson made 28 saves in the Cochrane net to pick up the win while Boily was peppered with 58 attempts against in defeat for Elliot Lake.
Game Photos courtesy of Northern Exposures Photography