PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. – OK Chilliwack Chiefs fans, you may now gloat. Penticton is out of the running for the RBC Cup….insult to injury..they lost in OT!
Jordan Larson scored 3:43 into double overtime, sending the Carleton Place Canadians back to the championship game at the RBC Cup with a 2-1 extra-time win over the Penticton Vees on Saturday afternoon.
It’s the second consecutive trip to the final for the Canadians, who gave back a two-goal lead in the final three minutes and lost in overtime to the Yorkton Terriers last year.
Early in the second extra period, Tyson Stewart kept the puck in at the Penticton blue-line before going cross-ice to Ryker Killins, whose low shot was kicked out by Vees goaltender Hunter Miska. Larson was Johnny-on-the-spot, knocking in the rebound to give the Canadians the thrilling victory.
Stephen Baylis had the lone Carleton Place goal in regulation time, while Tyson Jost replied for Penticton.
The game was a goaltending duel from the first puck drop, with Miska and Carleton Place netminder Guillaume Therien going save for save in the first 20 minutes, combining for 17 stops.
Jost finally broke through just past the six-minute mark of the second period, outmuscling a Canadians defender in front of Therien and banging in the rebound of a Connor Chartier for a 1-0 lead.
Baylis equalized for Carleton Place at 17:55 of the middle frame, taking advantage of a turnover in the neutral zone and absolutely wiring a wrist shot over Miska’s glove to tie the game after two periods.
The goaltenders took over from there; both Miska and Therien made 18 saves in the third period and first overtime combined, helping get the game to a second extra period before Larson’s winner.
Penticton thought it had the winner midway through the first overtime when a shot snuck through Therien and trickled over the goal line, but the whistle had blown before the puck entered the net.
Final shots on goal favoured Carleton Place, 40-37.
The game was just the 11th semifinal to go to overtime since the start of the five-team format in 1990, and was the first to reach a second overtime since Prince George beat Camrose in the longest game in tournament history, a five-overtime classic in 2007.
