Russill Mills held his breath, knowing one mistake could cost him the game and give the BX Pub Bandits one more life in the Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association championship series.
Five minutes into overtime in Game 4 Tuesday at Kin 1, Mills was looking down the barrel of a rifle held by Bandits sharpshooter Mike Engbrecht, one of the league's top scorers. The 26-year-old Assault goalie guessed right and made the save off Engbrecht, scooped up the rebound, then spied a vapour trail as John Makowsky took off down the floor.
The pass from Mills hit Makowsky in full stride and his shot swelled the net behind Jamie Thorne 6:05 into overtime for a 6-5 win. That touched off an Assault celebration eight years in the making as they completed the four-game sweep to win their first PGSLA title since 2003.
"John was breaking and he's such a fast guy but [Cole] Paciejewski was near him and I wasn't sure if I should make the pass," said Mills, named the playoff MVP. "But I decided to go for it and I got it to him and it was quite a relief to see him put the ball into the net. After playing for more than 60 minutes, the guys were getting tired on both teams."
The Assault were regular season champions as well and went undefeated in the playoffs, starting with three-game semifinal elimination of the Mackenzie Lumberjacks.
"The last one is always tough to win and you want to close out a team as fast as you can and not give them any chance to crawl back into the series," said Mills, who made 37 saves.
"We knew it was going to be a tight game, and to his credit, Jamie Thorne played an excellent game in the opposing net. It was really tight checking, with a lot of good ball movement and I was a little nervous."
Thorne was sharp in turning aside 53 shots, but he was unable to deny the speedy Makowsky.
The teams were tied 4-4 after two periods and Clarke Anderson gave them the lead early in the third period, which stood until Brett Doig fired the equalizer with 6:19 left in regulation time.
Assault captain Clarke Anderson led the way offensively with three goals and one assist, playoff scoring champion Dave Jenkins finished with one goal and three assists, and John Kelly also scored Tuesday. Paciejewski put four shots behind Mills.
Jenkins set a torrid scoring pace in the playoffs, collecting 53 points in seven playoff games. He was glad to see Makowsky finish it off.
"It sure is nice to have a guy like John, with young fresh legs out there," said Jenkins. "He's become a huge factor in our offence and it's so nice to have a guy like that out there who can run all game and work his butt off.
"We've been working hard for this, the same group of guys, for the last three years and it feels pretty good to do this. We came close two years ago, going six games [in the final] against the Devils, and six games last year with the Bandits. They were all tight games and I'm just happy we were on the winning end of it this year."
Leading the parade around the Kin 1 floor after the presentation of the Dale Rolufs Memorial Trophy was Assault goalie Brian Stanley, an original member of the club when the league formed in 1991.
"It was a good one to be part of," said Mills. "I was part of that 2003 team and we also won senior C provincials that year and we're really looking forward to that in five weeks."
The Assault will try to continue its winning ways Aug. 19-21 at the provincial C provincial championship, Aug. 19-21 at the Kin Centre. As many as nine teams are expected to compete for the Fred Doig Trophy. All five PGSLA teams are eligible to compete for the provincial crown. That event will run in conjunction with the Treasure Cove Casino senior C Challenge Cup invitational tournament.
