The Terrace River Kings beat the Quesnel Kangaroos 6 - 5 and took game 1 of the CIHL championships in an overtime goal scored by Corbin Legros on Saturday, March 4, at the Terrace Sportsplex.
The venue was almost at capacity for the last home game of the season, with fans on the edge of their seats as things really heated up in the third period.
Quesnel had a two point lead at the end of the the second period but the River Kings fought their way back to a 4-4 tie when Colin Bell scored late in the third period.
The Kangaroos again looked like they had it won when Allessio Tomassetti scored a 4-5 tie breaker with just 1 minute and 18 seconds left in the third period.
But home-team fans erupted when Colton Braid tied it up again with just 55 seconds left to send the game into overtime and the rest, as they say, is history.
As the top team in the league the Kangaroos have the home ice advantage going forward and the River Kings hit the road next weekend to play in Quesnel.
It’s the fourth time the River Kings and Kangaroos have faced off for the gold and Germain Francouer, general manager for the River Kings, said the pressure is on.
“Nobody’s going into Quesnel thinking this is a cake walk. They’re gonna be tough games. Quesnel will bring their best effort and if we can match it then we have a very good chance at winning.
“The players are excited, we have the slight upper hand but that deosn’t mean anything.”
Game two on Saturday, March 11, will decide the fate of the Kangaroos, who need to win the next two-in-a row to take the championship.
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michael.willcock@terracestandard.com