The Kitimat Kid did it again.
Justin Almeida found a pocketful of kryptonite and used it to snuff the provincial bantam Tier 1 title hopes of the Burnaby Winter Club Bruins.
With overtime looming in Thursday night's championship final at Kin 1, the 15-year-old North Shore Winter Club Winterhawks winger stripped the puck away from the Bruins' defence behind their net and finished with a slick backhand move across the crease to put the 'Hawks ahead with just 2:17 left.
North Shore captain Jordan Bellerive, who had scored the tying goal a few minutes earlier, followed up with an empty-netter in the final minute to make it 4-2 and the 'Hawks threepeat celebration was on.
"There were three Burnaby guys behind the net and they fumbled the puck and it popped out and I pulled it around the goalie and backhanded it in," said Almeida, who also scored the winner Wednesday in a 2-1 round-robin win over Burnaby which put North Shore into the final.
"I was pretty happy when I saw the puck bounce out my way. It was battle all game. It's the best feeling ever."
The two best teams in the tournament thoroughly entertained the crowd of about 400 in the latest round of one of the province's most heated minor hockey rivalries.
"I think the pressure brings out the best in us, both teams don't like each other much and we want to to play the best against each other and it just makes for great games," said Almeida.
Almeida should have plenty of chances to fill that same net next season. He said he will play major midget hockey for the Cariboo Cougars, who will be playing their home games next season at Kin 1.
Bellerive's equalizer at 14:40 of the third came close to being a no-goal washout when the net was dislodged from its mooring in a pileup of players in front of the Bruins net. But an alert referee, Brendon Creyke, lifted the post back down on the peg as play continued, just as Bellerive unleashed a sharp-angle shot low from the opposite side into the net.
Bruins defenceman Jonny Sheardown had given them lead with a hot shot from the point just after a penalty to Bellerive had expired. Brett Stapely for North Shore and Henry Rhyu of the Bruins traded goals in the first period. Bruins goalie Bryce Scheibel was the reason the game was still tied 1-1 heading into the third period, having been outshot 30-11 through two periods.
Throughout their minor hockey careers his players have been through high-stakes games in big tournaments and North Shore head coach Jim Dinwoodie said that helped pave the path for their third-straight provincial title. It's a similar process that's worked well for the Bruins.
"They have been there before and that is the X-factor people don't realize," said Dinwoodie. "It's not that the winter clubs recruit the best talent, it's the fact they've played in the highest-level tournaments since they were very young. They've been in the fire and they're used to these experiences.
"You will see of few of these kids putting on jerseys and ball hats on draft day in the NHL."
The 'Hawks advance to the five-team Western Canadian bantam championship, April 4-7 in Kelowna.
The Bruins went into the final having played a tough do-or-die game against Kamloops for the right to go to the final. Burnaby barely hung on to beat Kamloops 3-2 win in a game which ended early Thursday afternoon.
For the Bruins, their devastating ending in the final was a deja vu, Groundhog Day nightmare. It conjured up memories of their loss to North Shore in the 2013 bantam Tier 1 provincial final.
"It feels awful," said Bruins head coach John Batchelor. "It was the same thing last year to us, we had the lead late in the game and lost it with two minutes left. I guess they outworked us in that part of the game. They're disappointed but their young kids and it's part of the maturation process of growing up. I told them after the game I'm proud of them and I wouldn't trade my team for their team. It's not the end of the world. There are billion people in China who don't give a damn whether we won or lost."
