DRYDEN, Ont. – A Justin Pitari breakaway goal a minute and a half into overtime was the decider as the Dryden GM Ice Dogs defeated the Red Lake Miners 3-2 Wednesday evening in Superior International Junior Hockey League play at Memorial Arena.
Following a scoreless first frame, Red Lake opened the scoring midway through the second stanza as Morgan Venne buried the rebound off a Shaye Sommerfeld attempt during a power play opportunity.
Dryden came back to level the proceedings at 13:13 while up two skaters as Josh Weber picked up the puck following his own shot and snapped the equalizer past Miners netminder Zach Willms.
The visitors got that back a couple of shifts later with Ethan Stuckless finishing off his 10th tally of the season with an attempt from the high slot.
Into the third, the GM Ice Dogs came back to force extra time with five and a half minutes remaining, via the power play, as Weber notched his second of the evening.
Heading to OT, Dryden pulled out the home ice victory when a Red Lake defender couldn’t gain full control of the puck near his own blueline, which allowed Pitari to get it past him and race in alone on Willms and promptly wire in the game-winner to give his side the win.
Amraj Gill chipped in with two assists to aid the GM Ice Dogs cause.
Shots on goal finished up 40-34 in favour of Dryden with Jacob Anthony picking up the triumph while Willms’ efforts helped the Miners earn a point in defeat.
Photo credit: Kerri-Ann Kanceruk