Jeff Gard/Today’s Northumberland
The Northumberland Stars outlasted the Wasaga River Dragons 7–6 in a shootout to open the Greater Metro Jr. A Hockey League Russell Cup championship series Friday night at the Keeler Centre in Colborne.
Despite his club trailing three times and Wasaga leading for much of the contest, Brayden Bowen scored the decisive goal in the shootout to give Northumberland a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Wasaga struck first just 2:32 into the opening period when Olle Svensson found the back of the net, but the Stars responded quickly. Dario Alimonti tied the game at 5:25 as the teams traded a pair of goals.
Luis Kolinke restored the River Dragons’ lead less than a minute later, only for Alimonti to notch his second of the period on the power play at 11:38, sending the teams into the intermission tied at two apiece.
The River Dragons came out flying in the second period, scoring three times in the opening four minutes. Elliot Stahmann struck just 29 seconds in, followed by goals from Lucas Decaluwe and Maximilian to give Wasaga a commanding 5-2 lead.
Zennon Edwards responded for the Stars midway through the middle frame and Ryan Boon added a power-play goal late in the frame to cut the deficit to one heading into the third.
Graham Rooney increased Wasaga’s lead at 12:35 of the third, but once again the Stars answered.
William Shmyr scored at 15:09 to keep Northumberland within striking distance, and with just over two minutes remaining, Nolan Connolly buried the equalizer at 17:59, tying the game for the final time and forcing overtime.
After a scoreless extra frame, the game went to a shootout, where Bowen sealed the victory for Northumberland.
Bowen also contributed two assists for a three-point night while Brendan Collins and Dawson Hettiarachchi each chipped in with two assists in the win.
Despite the loss, Wasaga goaltender Brody Pritchard had a strong performance in net, making 51 saves. At the other end, Ivan Kremnev made 43 saves in the win.
Game 2 of the series is set for Saturday night at the Keeler Centre in Colborne, with puck drop scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
