Josh Sale tipped a point shot from Dallen Oxelgren just over five minutes into overtime to give the Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings a berth in the SJHL finals. The goal gave the Red Wings a 3-2 win in the game and a 4-2 win in the series over the Flin Flon Bombers.
"I just saw the shot coming and realized I probably needed to deflect it," Sale said of the series-winning goal. "I deflected it in, and I kind of blacked out for a second, then realized we won. It's kind of the best feeling in the world."
"It's pretty exciting, and I'm so proud of our guys," commented Red Wings head coach Cody Mapes. "We saw the last two games - we really weren't there, but we gave ourselves a chance in the first three games of this series to have this opportunity tonight."
The series win puts the Red Wings into the SJHL final for the first time since 2012. It also marks the first time the Red Wings have beaten the Bombers in the playoffs since 1985.
The game started out like the last two games of the series, with Flin Flon scoring in the first period. Ryder Mucha scored 5:40 into the game, getting the puck past a sprawling Angelo Zol.
Weyburn would respond in the second period with two goals in less than a minute.
Max Chakrabarti scored at 9:41 on the power play. Jerome Maharaj had an assist on the goal, with Cyprus Smith-Davis getting the other assist.
With 9:40 left in the second, Chad Lebeau would be called for kneeing in the offensive zone, giving the Bombers a power play. It would be the Red Wings who scored, however.
Lucas Schmid would end up on a partial breakaway just 10 seconds into the power play, beating Matthew Kieper to put the Red Wings up 2-1. The unassisted goal also marked the first time in the series that the lead had changed in a game.
The third period would see the Bombers rally, and their efforts would pay off just before the halfway point. Joey Lies would get the puck past Zol to make it 2-2. From there, neither team would be able to score, despite a late power play opportunity for the Bombers. This would mean overtime, where Sale scored the game winner 5:08 into the extra frame.
"Electric crowd tonight," said Zol after the game. "It was a pretty special feeling."
"The mood's electric right now," noted Captain Blake Betson. "Me as a captain, I'm so proud of this group and everything we accomplished today. A lot of adversity, you know, bounces weren't going our way, but our room never sank. We stayed positive the whole way, and we knew we were winning tonight from the morning skate."
Now, the Red Wings will be taking on the Melfort Mustangs in the finals.
"We got a lot of work ahead of us here before we get there," said Mapes. "We're obviously excited. It's a huge opportunity in front of us. It's going to be a lot of work here to get ready, and we'll put our nose to the grindstone here tomorrow."
The Canterra Seeds Cup final against the Mustangs will open on April 19th in Melfort, with Game 2 played on April 20th. The series will then shift to Weyburn for Games 3 and 4 on April 23rd and 24th. Game 5, if necessary, will be April 27th in Melfort. Game 6 is scheduled for April 30th in Weyburn, with Game 7, if necessary, on May 3rd in Melfort.