Voodoos take a draw in the neutral zone during second period action. PHOTO BY CHRIS DAWSON.
After snapping a six game losing streak with a 4-1 win over Abitibi Friday night, The Powassan Voodoos team was unable to keep to their winning ways as the Elliot Lake Wildcats skated away with a 5-3 victory.
It didn’t take long for either team to find their legs in the first period as both squads managed to unload a barrage of shots on their opponent’s net. Elliot Lake’s Goaltender Alan Menary and Powassan’s Matt Young both stood tall for the majority of the opening frame until the Voodoos found themselves in some penalty trouble.
Following a couple powerplay opportunities, the Wildcats were able to open the scoring as leading scorer Cole Hepler converted on the man advantage.
The Voodoos answered shortly after with a pair of quick markers less than a minute apart by Kyle Moore and Steve Harland, both of whom are draft picks of The North Bay Battalion of The Ontario Hockey League.
Elliot Lake managed to square things up at two goals a piece just over a minute into the middle frame after Forward Adam Baxter was sprung on a breakaway by Hepler.
Baxter made no mistake firing a quick shot past the Voodoos new netminder for the equalizer. As the second period progressed, both teams traded chances while Powassan failed to capitalize on three separate powerplay opportunities.
The Voodoos did not get the start they wanted in the third and final frame, however, as a costly turnover resulted in an Elliot Lake goal by forward Liam Blais to make it 3-2 just a minute into the period.
It didn’t take the Wildcats long to add to their lead as Hepler was add it again, finishing off a beautiful passing play by Baxter and Spencer MacLean on the powerplay just 3 minutes into the third.
Powassan’s Head Coach Scott Wray shared his thoughts on how unorganized he felt the game was and what the team needs to do to improve upon their performance.
“It wasn’t a good game overall, just a coaches' nightmare on both sides of the puck,” Wray expressed following the loss.
“They could have easily been up a couple on us. We just have to find a way to convert and get back to doing the little things in order to be successful.”
Powassan would manage to bring the game within one goal after forward Stavros Soilis potted his first goal of the season just as their fourth powerplay was expiring.
Unfortunately for The Voodoos that was as close as they would get as MacLean tallied his third assist of the night with a nice dish to Nathan Campbell midway through the third to restore the two goal lead.
Elliot Lake’s Alan Menary stopped 36 of the 39 shots he faced while Powassan’s Matt Young, who was playing in only his second game with the club, turned aside 32 of 37 in a losing effort.
Wildcats Forward Cole Hepler was named the game’s first star with 2 goals and an assist in the win.
