saultsports ESPANOLA, Ont. – Rallying from a two-goal deficit, the Espanola Paper Kings countered with four unanswered tallies to surprise the Greater Sudbury Cubs 4-2 in a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League meeting Friday evening at the Regional Recreation Complex.
The outcome sees the Cubs lose for the first time since back on November 7, snapping a lengthy 20-game winning streak of theirs in the process.
Greater Sudbury scored first when Mason Walker knocked in a backhand under Espanola starter James Meredith 10:49 into the proceedings.
Still 1-0 Cubs into the second stanza, they added to their lead after Nolan Newton won a draw that eventually led to Daks Klinkhammer wiring a shot from the high slot into the bottom right corner.
The assist for Newton gives him points in 21 straight games, dating back to last season.
Countering quickly, Nico Vaccaro put the Paper Kings on the board off a misplay by netminder Noah Beaulne that allowed him to swat in a loose puck at 12:48.
Tying it up 6:22 into the third Espanola’s Jack Anderson neatly tipped in an Aidan Rufa point shot while stationed between the circles.
The home side then took the lead just over three minutes after that when Rufa converted on a power play by roofing one from the high slot during a four-on-three.
Getting their goalie out with two minutes remaining the Cubs pushed to knot the affair.
However, Meredith made a point-blank stop on Klinkhammer to keep his side in the lead in the late going.
Then with the visitors still pressing for an equalizer, the Paper Kings’ Jason Galante snagged a loose puck in his own zone, then sent a long-range backhander the length of the ice into the empty net at 18:56 to complete the comeback victory.
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