COCHRANE, Ont. – Austin Whelan’s second goal of the game, coming with 4:47 left in regulation, was the decider as the Cochrane Crunch earned a narrow 2-1 triumph over the visiting Elliot Lake Wildcats Thursday evening in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League encounter at Tim Horton Events Centre.
Going to the power play in the first period, it was Elliot Lake that opened the scoring in the contest as Tanner Hicks tapped in his third of the season at 8:51.
It stayed 1-0 Wildcats until the nine-minute mark of the second stanza when Whelan notched his first of the night to knot the affair after two periods of play.
Cochrane continued to press throughout in a game that saw them fire 48 shots on Elliot Lake netminder Justin Vertesi and were eventually rewarded with Whelan’s decider late in the contest to secure the win.
Zach Wickson made 21 saves in net for the Crunch to record the victory.
