The 100 Mile House Wranglers have tied the Doug Birks Division Finals by defeating the Kamloops Storm 5-4 in a second period overtime thriller on Saturday, March 15.
The Wranglers came into the game down 1-0 in the series with the Kamloops Storm beating them on Friday, March 14 5-3. The first period saw no scoring until late in the period - with the Storm's Luke Rothfos striking first with his third goal of the playoffs, assisted by Teghan Mullin and Luca D'Amore 18:54 in the first, taking a 1-0 lead. The Wranglers responded quickly: 19:26 in the first period Riley Langille scored his third of the playoffs, assisted by Brett Woodard, tying the game 1-1.
The second period was a barrage of goals as the Wranglers built up a 3-1 lead with a goal from Diego Cazac, his first of the playoffs, assisted by Riley Langille and Ethan Davey scored 5:42 in the second, while Brett Woodard scored his first of the playoffs 8:49 in the second period, assisted by Nash Hilworth and Jaden Rusznak. The Storm would fight back: thanks to a Tyler Smoluk penalty for slew footing - a double minor, Rothfos scored his fourth goal of the playoffs assisted by Hayden Selin and Ryan Larsen to make it 3-2 10:05 into the second period. Then, Noah Paulsen scored his third goal of the playoffs, assisted by Logan Bates and David Ander to tie the game 11:01 into the second period on the same power play. The Storm then took a 4-3 lead on a goal by Luca D'Amore, his fifth of the playoffs, assisted by Luke Rothfos 19:57 in the second period.
"Even though we got scored on one of them, our PK (penalty kill) was pretty solid for the penalties we did take, we kept them and didn't give them too many quality chances," Levi Stuart, the head coach and general manager of the 100 Mile House Wranglers said. He added that the Wranglers still needed to work on their discipline and staying out of the box.
The third period saw the Wranglers answer back with Nash Hilworth scoring his second goal of the playoffs assisted by Tyler Smoluk 1:47 into the period - tying the game 4-4. The rest of the period was scoreless requiring overtime.
The first overtime saw no goals whatsoever, although there had been numerous power-play opportunities from both teams. In the second overtime period, Jaden Rusznak was penalized for illegal equipment giving the Storm a power-play opportunity. However, Cazac went on a breakaway and scored a shorthanded and game-winning goal assisted by Tyler Smoluk 6:36 into the second overtime, giving the Wranglers a 5-4 win.
"Huge goal. Huge game from the team. Obviously, a massive win to tie the game up one-on-one heading into Kamloops on Monday. But trust in the process and trust in the hockey gods." said Stuart.
Stuart additionally praised Cazac for his other goal during the night and added he had a great game.
"Honestly, this is a team effort. I mean everybody, it's hard to pick one guy, and that's kind of been the story for us all year long," Stuart added.
The defeat snaps a five-game playoff winning streak by the Kamloops Storm that goes back to their series against the Quesnel River Rush which they swept. The series is now guaranteed to last five games: Game 3 and 4 will be in Kamloops at the McArthur Park Arena on Mar. 17 and 18, with Game 5 scheduled to take place at the South Cariboo Rec Centre in 100 Mile House on Mar. 17. Every game will begin at 7 p.m. and can be streamed on FloSports.
"We're hoping to just wear them down as the series goes on, continuing to pile on the shots and wear down the goalie and get to the net and get some greasy ones," Stuart stated.
