THUNDER BAY – SPORTS – The Lakehead Thunderwolves came from behind twice and went on to defeat the Concordia Stingers 3-2 in overtime before a crowd of 1823 at the Fort William Gardens on Saturday night.
For the second night in a row, the Stingers came out buzzing and took the early lead when Massimo Carozza beat Lakehead goalie Devin Green from close range 5:45 into the game.
Concordia kept Green busy for the rest of the first period, but he made some key saves to keep the Wolves down by only one goal heading into the second.
The middle frame was scoreless, but Lakehead began to take the play to the Stingers and had plenty of scoring chances that were thwarted by Concordia netminder Antoine Dagenais.
Green made a nice stop on a breakaway as the period wound down to keep the Wolves within striking distance.
Lakehead was finally able to solve Dagenais when E.J. Faust scored just 19 seconds into the third period to even the score at 1-1. Jonathon Masters was credited with the assist.
Anthony Beauregard knocked in a rebound from the edge of the crease on a Concordia power play at 15:52 of the third period to put the Stingers back in front.
The Thunderwolves kept the pressure on, and while already on the power play, pulled Green for an extra attacker as time wound down. The move paid off when Patrick Murphy scored at the 19:02 mark, with Brennen Dubchak and Dylan Butler getting the helpers.
The three-on-three overtime session was thrilling, with several good chances for both sides. Butler rang one off the crossbar, and Billy Jenkins had a chance to win it for the Wolves early on but lost control of the puck while Dagenais was sprawled out on the ice.
Later on at the other end of the rink, Green lost his stick with two Stingers on his doorstep but was able to retrieve it in time to make a key stop on a two-on-one break for Concordia shortly after.
With Joseph Leonidas and Jenkins deep in the Concordia zone, Daniel Del Paggio raced in to catch up to the play, took a nice pass from Jenkins and fired a hard wrister past Dagenais to give Lakehead the victory.
Total shots on goal in the game were 46-34 in favor of the Thunderwolves.
Lakehead was 1-for-8 on the power play, while Concordia went 1-for-2.
The Molson three stars of the game were:
- Daniel Del Paggio, Lakehead
- Dylan Green, Lakehead
- Antoine Dagenais, Concordia
The Thunderwolves will be on the road next weekend for a pair of games at Laurier.
