With the game on the line in the dying minutes, the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds kept attacking.
Trailing the Cariboo Cougars 3-2 late in the third period at Kin 1 Arena, they were desperate to score the equalizer.
The T-birds fired pucks from every angle at Cougars netminder Griffen Outhouse. The 16-year-old stopped the flurry of shots and finally his teammate, forward Colten Thomas, sent the puck into the empty net at the other end of the ice with 30 seconds left for the insurance marker.
A roar of applause from the fans followed. The Cougars won the game 4-2, clinching Game 3 in a best-of-three quarter-final playoff series in the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League.
"We knew they would come in here and give us a hard time," said Cougars' 17-year-old captain Austin Gray who scored twice in Game 3, including the game winner. "They played us tough all season. I think there was some nervousness in the room this morning and we had the start we wanted."
The series was tied 1-1 going into Sunday's rubber match after the Abbotsford-based Thunderbirds beat the Cats 4-2 Saturday afternoon to even the series.
The Cougars were the top team in the regular season with a 28-8-3 record, while the Thunderbirds finished eighth at 17-18-5.
Saturday's game was tied at 2-2 in the third period, when a shot from the point by Fraser Valley defenceman David Padgham at the 11:10 mark beat Outhouse that was the eventual game-winner.
Outhouse was pulled with just over a minute remaining in favour of an extra attacker but the Cougars didn't capitalize on their chances.
Forward Noah Wiebe added the empty-netter with a second left in the game.
The Cougars outshot the T-birds 27-19 as Fraser Valley netminder Paul Tucek earned the win in net. Steven Jandric and Joel Patsey scored for the Cougars.
"I think maybe going into yesterday's (Saturday's) game we weren't in the right mindset," said Gray. "We were thinking we could sweep them, but we had to play playoff hockey. We came out better today."
Sunday, Gray opened the scoring at the 9:07 mark of the first period after he lifted a shot past Thunderbirds goalie Paul Tucek in front of the net.
In the second, 17-year-old defenceman Todd Bredo made it 2-0, tucking the puck past Tucek.
Gray notched his second of the game less than two minutes later during a Cougars four-minute power play.
The Thunderbirds got on the scoreboard 12 minutes later when 17-year-old forward Kyle Bosko took a shot from the point that beat Outhouse with 48 seconds left on a power play opportunity.
Early in the third period, the Cougars found themselves short-handed with two players in the penalty box. The Thunderbirds scored with two seconds left on a goal from 18-year-old forward Brice Sharp to narrow the Cougars' lead to one.
The Cougars had several opportunities to score but couldn't bury their chances.
Gray finished the game with two goals and an assist, while Jandric added two assists. The Cougars outshot the Thunderbirds 48-20.
"We took two to three undisciplined penalties and that's what cost us," said Cougars' co-coach and general manager Trevor Sprague. "It should've been a six or seven nothing game. We didn't bury our chances and we had opportunities. Griffen played well... and we got the win."
The Cougars now move on to the semifinals next weekend where they'll host the South Island Royals from Victoria.
The Royals, the seventh-ranked squad, knocked off the second-ranked Vancouver Northwest Giants 2-1 in their best-of-three series. The Royals won Game 1 3-2 on Friday in Burnaby, the Giants evened the series with a 3-2 Game 2 victory and the Royals edged the Giants 2-1 Sunday to clinch the series.
Sprague said the Royals are a trapping team and will try to shut down the Cougars speed through the neutral zone.
"They will try to frustrate us and our guys will need to stay positive and be mentally tough," he said. "We'll have to work hard and be more consistent. Their (Royals) goalie has played well, and we'll have to bury our chances. We've got the talent to do it."
The best-of-three semifinal series will be at Kin 1 beginning Friday, March 13 at 5 p.m. Game 2 is Saturday, March 14 at 1 p.m. while Game 3 is Sunday, March 15 at 8:15 a.m.
