The Powassan Voodoos staged a thrilling third-period comeback on Thursday night, erasing a two-goal deficit with four unanswered goals to defeat the two-time defending champion Greater Sudbury Cubs 4-2 in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) action.
The Cubs controlled the opening frame, and their persistence paid off when Noah Kohan tipped in a shot from the point to give Greater Sudbury a 1-0 lead. The score held through a back-and-forth second period where the Voodoos were unable to beat Cubs goaltender Matthew Vahramian, despite several quality chances. Just before the second intermission, Lucas Antonioni extended the Cubs’ lead to 2-0 with a goal from a scramble in front of the net.
Facing a two-goal deficit heading into the final period, the Voodoos found their rhythm. It started on the power play at the seven-minute mark when Justin Rousseau spun and fired a shot past Vahramian to cut the lead in half. The comeback gathered momentum just 19 seconds later, with Ryan Saginaw burying a pass from Cayden Kowal to tie the game at 2-2. With the assist, Kowal extended his regular-season point streak to eight games, dating back to last season.
The Voodoos kept the pressure on and took their first lead of the night at 11:38. Rousseau netted his second goal of the night, taking a feed from Anthony Boyes and burying a shot from the left circle.
With time winding down, the Cubs pulled their goalie for an extra attacker, but Voodoo’s netminder Cole Vreugdenhil stood tall, shutting down a couple of Grade-A chances. Saginaw then sealed the victory for Powassan with a long-range empty-net goal.
The win moves the Voodoos to a perfect 3-0-0-0 on the young season, while the Cubs now sit at 1-2-0-0.