The 100 Mile House Wranglers snatched home-ice advantage away from the Kimberley Dynamiters win a 2-1 victory on the road on March 26.
The Wranglers got off to a slow start and fell behind 1-0 in the first on a power-play goal from Kimberley's Jordan Busch (Jared Marchi, Sawyer Hunt) at 13:03.
The reigning Kootenay International Junior Hockey League champions charged out of the gates and out shot the 100 Mile boys 11-3 in the first.
However, the Wranglers played their game in the second period by grinding down their opponents and hitting everything that moved.
There was no scoring in the second stanza, but the Wranglers evened up the shots on goal at 17 apiece.
As the period was coming to a close, the momentum had shifted to the visitor's advantage.
The Wranglers came out flying in the third period, and Kolby Page scored his first of the playoffs when he was set up by Ryan Friesen and Brett Harris at 14:51 on a power play.
Then with 6:15 left on the clock, Friesen (Tavis Roch, Harris) found the back of the Kimberley net for the winning goal.
The teams go back at it tonight, with the tilt starting at 7 p.m. Mountain Time.
Then the series switches to 100 Mile House for games 3, 4, and if necessary, 5 at the South Cariboo Rec. Centre. The puck drops at 7 p.m.
