Kaidyn Chabot lives a 13-hour drive away in Cranbrook but Prince George is where he was born and raised - the city in which he helped make an unforgettable memory for his Cranbrook Eagles hockey team Thursday night at the peewee Tier 2 provincial championship.
The 13-year-old centre took the Cranbrook Eagles on his back and was a tireless difference-maker, scoring three goals and two assists in an 8-5 win in the final over the Burnaby Winter Club Winterhawks.
After pulling the Eagles close with his first goal of the game to help erase a 3-0 deficit in the first period, Chabot set up linemate Scott Truman for the game-tying goal, then provided two insurance goals in the third period to cinch the victory.
Down 3-2 heading into the first intermission, the Eagles survived a shaky opening few minutes of the second period and went on to dominate the boys from Burnaby in the second half of the period. The Winterhawks caught a fortunate break on a 2-on-1 rush when Noah Abulail's goal-mouth pass attempt went in off the skate of Cranbrook defenceman Brayden Penner into the net midway through the second period. But the Eagles stormed right back and captain Carter Spring connected on a hard one-timed snapshot, fed by a pass from behind the net from Truman.
The Eagles tied it 4-4 and it took a feat of endurance to get them back on even terms 16:39 into the second period. Spring was sent in alone on a breakaway chance on a stretch pass from Ryan Bennett but missed the net and Chabot followed up on the rebound but also shot wide. On the same shift, Chabot hit Spring with another long pass behind enemy lines into the clear and he finished with a backhand-forehand deke, beating Dunsford with a high shot.
Cranbrook kept up its frenzied attack and that led to the go-ahead goal from Keian Kilback, who jammed in the loose puck in from the side of the net after a hot shot from pointman Wyatt Marlow gave Burnaby trouble.
The Eagles went on to dominate the middle frame, outshooting Burnaby 28-8 in the period and 54-31 in the game.
Chabot's second goal with eight minutes left was a result of his own all-out effort. He batted down a pass attempt from Nikola Jovanivic in the Cranbrook end and skated the length of the ice, beating two Burnaby checks before dumping the puck in with a wrist shot. That made it a 6-4 game. Burnaby captain Tyler Cristall gave his team some faint hope when scored on a penalty shot with 1:51 left, but Chabot ended the suspense with a shot block and a long shot into the empty net.
In the first period, Burnaby blitzed the Eagles' zone from the opening face-off and built a 3-0 by the four-minute mark. Caeden Bankier got the Winterhawks started at 2:14, Adam Grenier snuck another one past goalie Will Doerksen 25 seconds later and Emmett McHardy stretched the lead to three with 4:24 gone.
The Eagles finally got their offence untracked 5:47 into the first period when Truman connected on a pass from Chabot, who followed up with a shot between the legs of Burnaby goalie Mason Dunsford to make it a one-goal game.
Both teams were 4-0 heading into the final. In the semifinals earlier in the day, Burnaby defeated Port Moody 7-5, and Cranbrook breezed to an 8-0 victory over Penticton. Port Moody went on to win the bronze medal game 10-2 over Penticton.
Meanwhile, at the midget Tier 1 provincial championship in Comox, the Prince George Coast Inn of the North won bronze with a 3-2 win-loss record, closing out the tournament Thursday with a 4-0 triumph over Nanaimo. Seafair of Surrey and Kelowna met in the final late Thursday.
