The Elliot Lake Red Wings Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League team was out of town Friday and Saturday, playing a 4-2 win against the Cochrane Crunch and a 4-2 loss to the Hearst Lumberjacks.
In Saturday’s game, Thomas Dimoulas's power play goal late in the first period was the game winner for the Red Wings at the Tim Horton Events Centre in Cochrane.
The Red Wings started off the scoring on a quick snapshot by Braden Vis that beat Cochrane netminder Marcus Ouellet.
The Red Wings took a 2-0 lead midway through the first thanks to Calum McGill firing one upstairs from the top of the right circle on a two-man advantage.
On the power play later in the period, Dimoulas put one past Ouellet from in close to extend the Red Wings lead.
The Crunch managed to get one back before the end of the period on a goal by Christian Golic, who forced a turnover just inside the blue line and skated in to beat Sean Guerin in the Elliot Lake goal.
After a scoreless second period, the Crunch narrowed the gap on a goal by Liam Boswell, but the Red Wings responded shortly after with a goal by Zachary Vickerman that capped off the scoring.
On Friday, Brandan Tronchin’s goall 7:32 into the second period was the game winner as Hearst doubled up Elliot Lake at Claude Larose Arena in Hearst.
The league's top power play capitalized early when Cody Walker set up Mason Svarich in front. Svarich proceeded to pot his sixth of the season at 4:15 into a wide-open net.
With a power play of their own, Elliot Lake tied it the game at 14:40 as Cameron Dial sent a rising wrist shot from the right point that got through traffic in front and beat Hearst goaltender Ethan Dinsdale.
Hearst regain the lead early in the second period as Emile Pichette putting a play in front that deflected off the stick of a Red Wings defender and slid past netminder Cameron Smith.
Hearst took a two-goal lead at 7:32 thanks to Tronchin slamming in a rebound from a sharp angle off a Jett Mintenko chance.
Elliot Lake’s Kaden Laverdiere deposited a loose puck sitting in the crease with just over a minute remaining in the period to cut the Hearst lead back down to one.
Hearst picked up an insurance goal with 2:29 to go in regulation thanks to Gregory Harley setting up a wide-open Zachary Demers in front., Demers proceeded to chip in the night’s final marker over the pad of Smith.
The Red Wings are set to travel to Sault Ste. Marie to play the Thunderbirds Wednesday evening, with the Thunderbirds returning to Centennial Arena on Friday evening for a 7 p.m. The Red Wings will then host the Blind River Beavers the following night.