SUDBURY, Ont. – Twice in the second period the Lakehead Thunderwolves battled back to even ground.
But they couldn’t complete the trick again in the third.
The host Laurentian Voyageurs scored a pair of unanswered goals in the third period on Friday night and went on to down the Thunderwolves 5-3 in the first of two games the two teams will play this weekend.
Brett Jacklin scored twice and added an assist for Laurentian, notching his second of the season 58 seconds into the contest and closing out the scoring on the night at 6:20 of the third.
Down 2-0 after one, Daniel Del Paggio finally got the Wolves on the board three minutes into the second, his third goal of the young season. Jordan King evened the score 70 seconds later, but the Voyageurs jumped back in front at 7:59 with the Thunderwolves on the power play, to give Laurentian a 3-2 advantage.
Tomas Soustal tied things up again with just under six minutes to play in the middle stanza.
But Dexter Kuczek drew a minor penalty two minutes into the third and William Gignac, who also had a pair of helpers, beat Nic Renyard for the game winner at the 2:43 mark.
Renyard made 30 saves on 35 shots in taking the loss. Mackenzie Savard faced 40 shots, stopping 37 for the victory.
The two teams meet again on Saturday.
