Last shot wins in overtime hockey and Ethan Hamilton made sure he put all his might into that slapper from the point.
Given the chance to end the Up the Creek Garment Company peewee Tier 2 tournament Sunday afternoon at Kin 2, Hamilton fired a shot that had just enough steam to slip through the pillows Terrace Kermodes goalie Ayden Fenske was wearing on his legs.
The 12-year-old defenceman’s power-play goal, 3:14 into overtime, broke the tension and triggered the celebration for the Premium Truck & Trailer Cougars. Their 6-5 clincher came as a huge relief, knowing how often they tempted fate while trapped in a revolving door to the penalty box.
The Cougars drew 11 straight minor penalties in a dicey stretch of the second and third periods and watched helplessly as the Kermodes chipped away at their 4-1 lead and tied it with a pair of power-play goals.
“That was pretty lucky – we just kept pushing and my team really wanted it,” said Hamilton. “We had it in the bag and we started letting up. We kept getting lazier, taking penalties. Once you start taking a penalty it’s kind of like a goal.”
Cougars right winger Marek Brideau, who scored three times for a natural hat trick to give his team that three-goal lead early in the second period, watched helplessly as Kermodes player Jacob Suderman connected with linemate William MacKay to start the comeback with an even-strength goal just after the break midway through the second period.
The Cougars were still trying to kill their second 5-on-3 disadvantage when MacKay potted a rebound to make it a 4-3 game late in the second period and Gavin Bretherick tied it 2:59 into the third period on another Kermodes’ power play.
Then at the 13-minute mark of the third, right after Brideau forced the Kermodes to take a penalty as he beat three players on a left-wing rush carrying the puck into Terrace territory, Jacob McLean was standing at the right place as Jesse Brideau let go a shot from the blueline and the puck deflected off McLean’s thigh and into the net for a 5-4 Cougars’ lead. But Terrace tied it with less than four minutes left, a power-play goal from defenceman Owen Muller.
The Cougars started overtime with about a minute of power-play time and Hamilton scored the winner a couple minutes after that carryover penalty expired, with the Kermodes’ Shawn Devcic off for tripping.
Colton Cash of the Cougars and Terrace forward Ashton Forsyth opened the scoring in the first period. The shots ended up even, 35-35. Ryder Wogan was in goal for the Cougars and stood tall while making some timely and difficult saves in the third period that kept his team in the game.
“It feels really good to win, we played really well,” said Marek Brideau. “We were nervous at the start of the third period. It feels good because we haven’t had a (tournament) win for a long time.”
The Cougars, who won all five of their round-robin games, including a 6-2 triumph over the Kermodes on Saturday, exacted revenge after losing to Terrace in the final of a Williams Lake tournament a month ago.
“We battled back after 11 straight penalties and got a couple chances in overtime and we were able to bury it,” said Cougars head coach Graham Laursen. “It was exciting for the boys, they worked hard and persevered. It was good to see them bounce back, good to see them keep working hard and believe in the system and the process.
“Ethan has a good shot, with good puck movement, and it was a bit of retribution because they got a power-play goal on us to win it in Williams Lake.”
