The Terrace Midgets rep team has so far chalked up two wins and one tie, defeating South Okanagan last night in a real nailbiter that came down to the final two minutes.
Tonight the boys will face Whitehorse in what coach Rob Bell says is a “must win.”
Even with a 2-0-1 record, “by no means are we out of the woodwork here,” Bell said, explaining how a loss to Whitehorse tonight would mean a three-way tie in their pool, and only two teams will advance.
Last night Terrace clinched the victory in the final two minutes of the game against South Okanagan.
The Terrace boys were leading the game 3-2 for most of the third period, but South Okanagan tied it up 3-3 with only two minutes left on the clock.
The goal heated things up even more in the packed arena, but the Terrace boys didn’t lose their heads.
Brandon Onstein had control of the puck at the point, and fired it across to Jayson Kawinsky.
Ready for the pass, Kawinsky tipped it past the goalie to net the tie-breaker and put Terrace up 4-3.
The boys scooped an empty-netter at the end to win 5-3.
Hockey dad Paul Ebeling said the Terrace boys showed strong composure to execute that quick turn around after their opponents tied it up at the end.
“It’s ice water in their veins,” said Ebeling.
“Giving up the lead that late, with one minute left, to keep their composure and still come out and 40 seconds later, to bring it home… and we’ve done that twice,” he said, referring the earlier 4-4 tie with Mission, where Terrace trailed behind the whole game, but clinched two key goals at the end to tie it up.
Bell agreed.
“They showed great character, coming from behind in both games,” he said.
But Bell did say that last night’s game was a bit undisciplined on the Terrace end, and our boys made a few un-characteristic and costly mistakes.
It was definitely a roller coaster game, he said, adding that he feels a bit stressed with all that's going on.
So far the Terrace boys are at the top of their pool, with two wins and one tie.
They tied 4-4 with Mission Sunday morning, making an intense comeback in the last two minutes of play.
Then on Sunday night they beat Cranbrook 2-0, a strong defensive game for the Terrace Midgets, with some key saves by goalie Joshua Fernandes.
Terrace Totem Ford Midgets now face off against Whitehorse tonight at 7:30 p.m. which will be the last deciding match before playoffs.
Games are free to for the audience to watch, thanks to a donation from Rio Tinto.
Only four teams, two from each pool advance into semi-finals Wednesday morning.