Nickel Barons make it three in a row

The Sudbury Nickel Barons have picked a darn good time to bump up their game a notch.

For the fifth time this year, but only the second occasion since Nov. 1, the Barons have managed to string together three victories or more, extending their current stretch of success with an 8-5 win over the Abitibi Eskimos Wednesday night in Copper Cliff.

After squandering a first-period 4-1 lead, Sudbury outscored the visitors 4-1 over the final 20 minutes as well, with Dylan Callaghan and Christopher Rossi scoring two goals apiece for the winners.

August Jarecki, Eric Champagne, Kyle Fransen and Matt Neault all chipped in with one goal apiece, while the Eskies received two-goal efforts from both Kevin Walker and Tristan Salesse, supplemented by a solo tally from Brenden Locke.

The Nickel Barons outshot the Eskimos 52-38, scoring three times while short-handed, along with the marker from Fransen on the power play. Despite the win, Sudbury remains eight points back of the Elliot Lake Wildcats, though they hold two games in hand.

Any chance of catching the Wildcats in second place in the NOJHL West will be greatly influenced by a key two-game homestand for the Barons. Sudbury welcomes Elliot Lake to Sudbury Arena for a rare Sunday evening encounter, with opening faceoff at 8:30 p.m., before going right back at it with the Wildcats next Wednesday evening at the McClelland Arena in Copper Cliff.