The Miramichi Timberwolves have put themselves into a strong position to qualify for the knockout round at the Centennial Cup after a 5-3 victory over the Sioux Lookout Bombers on Sunday evening in Oakville, Ontario, sitting atop Group B with six points.
The Timberwolves got off to a fast start as Justin David scored his second goal of the tournament just 2:44 into the 1st period, with an assist to David Doucet. After a successful penalty kill, Sioux Lookout tied things up at 14:42 with a goal from Alex Lucas. Miramichi would regain the lead before the end of the 1st period. Ludovic Dufort ripped a shot under the crossbar after a Timberwolves’ faceoff win to put the MHL champions on top 2-1 after the opening 20 minutes. Assists to Hugo Audette and Elliot Robert. Miramichi outshot Sioux Lookout 19-6 in the 1st.
A late double-minor for high-sticking before the end of the 1st period put Miramichi on the powerplay, but it was the Bombers who took advantage as Jonah Smith scored shorthanded just 35 seconds into the 2nd period to tie the game 2-2. It was a back-and-forth period, with Miramichi’s Jack Flanagan and Sioux Lookout’s Matthew Spencer-Dahl keeping things even. But late in the 2nd period, Audette made a great pass to spring Robert who scored a shorthanded goal to give the Timberwolves a 3-2 lead heading to the 3rd period. Shots were 12-9 for Miramichi in the 2nd period.
Miramichi kept the pressure on in the 3rd period. After being unable to convert on the powerplay in the Centennial Cup, going 0-for-12, Jeremy Duhamel’s quick shot on the man advantage gave the Timberwolves a 4-2 lead, with assists going to Zachael Turgeon and Robert. Doucet scored the second powerplay goal of the evening for the Timberwolves at 16:28 to extend the lead to 5-2. Assists went to David and Turgeon. Tait Howell got the Bombers back within two with a goal for Sioux Lookout at 18:39, but that’s as close as they would get. Shots were 45-26 for the Timberwolves overall.
The player of the game for Miramichi was Jeremy Duhamel.
The loss eliminates Sioux Lookout from the Centennial Cup. Miramichi is one point up on Melfort, two points up on Winkler, and three points up on Oakville. All three of those teams, however, have only played two games to the three games played by Miramichi. The Timberwolves will have Monday off before finishing their round-robin schedule against the Winkler Flyers at 8:30 p.m. Atlantic on Tuesday.