Brendan Barron went one-handed in overtime to beat Yellowhead Chiefs goaltender Brett Friesen with 59 seconds left in the extra period as the Norman Northstars earned a bonus point and split their series with the Chiefs, earning the fourth win of the season and second on home ice Nov. 3.
Lodie Ipeelie's pass sprung Barron on a breakaway, earning the Nunavut product his seventh point of the weekend and fourth of the game, vaulting himself into second overall in Manitoba AAA Midget League Hockey scoring in the process.
The goal was Barron's second of the game and gave the Northstars two points that had almost been theirs in regulation before Josh Martin pounced on a turnover just inside the Northstars' blueline to beat Aaron Vallance and ties the game 3-3.
Ipeelie had an assist on Barron's goal at 5:27 of the second period, which tied the game at two apiece, He then gave his team the lead just over two minutes later, converting a feed from Barron with the Northstars on the power play. Ipeelie also had an assist on the Northstars' first goal of the game, which came with the man advantage in the opening period and halved the Chiefs two-goal lead, which they built with power play goals exactly three minutes apart from Travis Sanheim and Nolan Speiss before the game was 10 minutes old.
The line of Barron, Ipeelie and Trent Laycock combined for three goal and nine points on the night as Laycock picked up assists on his linemates' second period goals.
Vallance got the win in net, turning aside 31 of 34 Yellowhead shots, including four in overtime.
Ipeelie tried to play hero in a late-game rally on Friday night as the Northstars scored three times in 72 seconds with less than five minutes to play to turn a 5-1 game into a one-goal nailbiter before Bradley Bowles scored his second of the game into an empty net for a 6-4 win.
The Chiefs went up 3-0 before the midpoint of that game on a first period power play goal by Shawn Bowles and second period markers by Bradley Bowles, with the man advantage, and Taylor Sanheim, at even strength. Boyd Langan got the Northstars on the board with 8:29 left in the middle frame, scoring on a point shot with the Northstars on a power play.
Shawn Bowles made it a three-goal advantage for Yellowhead early in the third, beating Northstars goaltender Luke Penner on the rush with a shot from the boards. Travis Sanheim extended the lead to four just 72 seconds afterwards with his team on the man advantage, making it appear that the Chiefs were on their way to an easy win.
Charlton got the comeback attempt started for the Northstars, scoring his team's second goal on a rebound with 4:25 to play. Less than a minute later, Ipeelie's first of the game cut the lead to two and a Chiefs timeout didn't help them any as he got his second just 24 seconds later, prompting Yellowhead to pull starting goaltender Matthew Short in favour of Friesen.
Shots in the game were 32-25 for the Chiefs, who held a 30-19 advantage in that category before the Northstars came to life late.
The Northstars are currently fifth in the league's East Division, with a 4-8 record and eight points, one behind the Interlake Lightning and two ahead of the Eastman Selects. They hit the road for three games this weekend, visiting the 10-2 Winnipeg Thrashers on Friday and then playing back-to-back games against the Pembina Valley Hawks on Saturday and Sunday. They hit the ice at the C.A. Nesbitt Arena again Nov. 16-17 when they take on the Central Plains Capitals, who currently sit fifth in the West Division with a 4-7-1 record.
