Hunter Mosher was out to kill the clock for the Northern Capitals in overtime Sunday while her teammate Victoria Byer was in the Kin 2 penalty box.
Knowing how close her team was to being dethroned as champions of the B.C. Hockey Female Midget Triple-A League, Mosher decided it was time to end the fun for the Thompson-Okanagan Lakers.
She took a pass from Myah Bowal at centre ice and used her speed and agility to deke Laker defenceman Christy Blackburne with a slick outside-inside move, then rifled a shot between the pads of goalie Kendra Woodland to trigger the celebration for the Capitals.
The shorthanded goal, 4:58 into overtime, gave the Capitals a 3-2 win in the third and deciding game of the semifinal series. They advance to the league championship in two weekends in Richmond against the regular-season champion Greater Vancouver Comets.
"It's phenomenal, I can't even describe the feeling, it's too exciting to describe," said Mosher. "Honestly, it was just muscle memory. I guess I didn't even know what I was doing until I did it. We were getting frustrated, we couldn't put it in the net but we just kept pushing and got a lucky break and capitalized."
Mosher, who locked up a CIS scholarship to play next season for Nipissing University in North Bay, Ont., is one of the Capitals' best skaters and her speed on the forecheck was a constant threat in Sunday's game.
"She always likes to make that little move and I've always told her in the past to shoot the puck," said Capitals head coach Mario Desjardins. "I was thinking to myself, 'If you're going to make that move, make that move now,' and, lo and behold, she made that move and stuck it in the five-hole. It was a pretty amazing goal."
After a 3-2 win over the Lakers Saturday, the Capitals appeared to have Sunday's game sewn up, leading 2-0, but two late power-play goals from the Lakers wiped the slate clean.
Centre Ashley McCabe tapped in a rebound at the 12:45 mark after linemate Jenna Fletcher nailed the goalpost. With just 1:12 left on the clock and Caps defenceman Victoria Johnston serving a slashing call, the Lakers called Woodland to the bench to create a 6-on-4 advantage. Blackburne let go a high slapshot from the point which found its way into the net behind Kelsey Roberts.
The Lakers had all the momentum at the start of OT and had two good shots at ending the game but fell short. The Capitals were given a power-play chance of their own 2:18 into overtime, when Blackburne closed her hand on the puck, but could not convert.
"I think they thought they would have it easy and we definitely showed them they had to battle all the way to the end," said Blackburne. "We only have three third-year players and I'm proud of them. This is definitely a last minor hockey game I will remember."
The Capitals struck first 2:38 into the second period when Marissa Nichol deflected in a Johnston point shot. Lakers goalie Woodland also had no chance to stop Sage Desjardins when she took a drop pass from Nichol and ripped a slapper from 25 feet out which ticked off a Laker defender before it went in, 16:30 into the second.
The Lakers finished the period with a flurry of great chances but Roberts was equal to the task. The 17-year-old from Kitimat is one of nine graduating players on the Capitals squad and was in no mood to see her minor hockey career end Sunday.
"Going into the third we had the lead and we were confident but they got one on us and the momentum switched into their hands, but we got the goal in the end," said Roberts, who along with Sage Desjardins will move on to the University of Calgary next season.
"Overtime is always pretty stressful but you just have to get shots to the net and hope for the best. Hunter made a beautiful move, it couldn't have been a nicer goal to win the game. The timing couldn't have been better. We have such a tight-knit group here and we don't want to have to leave each other; we want the season to last as long as we can."
Thompson-Okanagan took the first game Friday 3-2 in overtime. Lakers head coach Mark Henderson knows his team surprised many observers by nearly upsetting the defending league champs.
"Being down two-zip with one of the youngest teams in the league, to come back and take it to overtime, I was proud of the way the girls battled back and the way they played all weekend," said Henderson.
