ELLIOT LAKE, Ont. – A Logan Freiburger marker with 68 seconds remaining in regulation helped the Elliot Lake Wildcats pull out an eventual 4-4 double overtime tie with the Blind River Beavers Friday evening in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League preseason contest at Centennial Arena.
Elliot Lake started strong in the first period grabbing a 2-0 lead on tallies from Myles Cook and Taylor Woolcott.
Blind River cut into the deficit before the frame was complete on a Tristen Bernard effort at 17:55.
The Beavers drew even with a power play goal with five and a half minutes left in the second stanza when Max Khull connected on the power play.
Bernard put the visitors in front in the third with his second of the night before Woolcott struck shorthanded with 9:47 to go for the Wildcats to knot the proceedings once again.
After Blind River’s Caleb Serre gave his side the lead once again at 12:52, it was Freiburger’s first of the preseason that forced extra time in the late going of the frame.
Neither side would break the deadlock in OT as the two clubs settled for the draw.
Taylor Bucsis dished out two assists for Elliot Lake.
The Wildcats held a slight edge in shots on goal by a 45-44 margin.
Garrett Boynoski started for Blind River and made 33 saves in three periods of work while Tyler Shugrue stopped all eight attempts he saw in OT.
Parker Simpson got the nod for Elliot Lake and turned aside 20 of 21 shots in 32 minutes of work.
Allan Menary went the rest of the way for the Wildcats and made 20 saves of his own in his stint between the pipes.
