The first 20 minutes of play saw Trois-Rivières and Wheeling getting on the scoreboard with a goal apiece: First it was the Lions’ Chris Jandric scoring at 5:25 to give Trois-Rivières a 1-0 lead. That advantage only lasted for just over four minutes however as Wheeling’s Jordan Martel evened the score at the 9:51 mark. And much as the opening stanza ended with the teams knotted at a goal apiece, the shots on goal were another matter entirely, with Wheeling recording 17 shots versus the Lions only mustering three.
The goals came fast and furious in the second period: At the 4:11 mark the Lions’ Anthony Beauregard gave the Lions a 2-1 lead with his first goal of the season. Fifty-nine seconds later Wheeling’s Matty De St. Phalle tied the game, and his goal was then followed slightly more than three minutes later when Atley Calvert gave the Nailers a 3-2 lead. But the Lions had no intention of going down without a fight and Tyler Hylland scored at 10:39 to even the score at 3-3 which remained the score after 40 minutes of play.
Both teams’ offences continued to be effective in the third period, starting with Trois-Rivières’ Jakov Novak scoring to give the Lions a 4-3 lead after only 12 seconds. Wheeling’s Matthew Quercia scored 11 minutes later and after 60 minutes of play the teams were tied at 4-4. Overtime beckoned.
Wheeling’s De St. Phalle was assessed a tripping penalty at 3:22 in the overtime period, and Novak was the man of the hour when he scored the winning goal with a power play tally at 4:04, thus giving the Lions their first victory on the road this season.
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