For the second consecutive year, it was a Fraser River-versus-Serenity clash for the Lumber Cup last week.
The hotly-contested Forestry Hockey League final was played for the first time in the West Fraser barn on Friday night (March 29) .
Unlike last year, Fraser River was the dark horse entering the game, which they won in dramatic fashion — 6-5 in overtime.
Serenity was the favourite entering the final, as they had squeaked out a 2-1 win over BCS before blowing out the Chevy Crew 6-1 on Wednesday evening.
That set up a mean-nothing contest for the regular season champs in their final game versus Bear, who were winless in their pair of games.
The Builders’ wild 6-5 comeback victory was a precursor of an even more epic comeback, as Fraser River came all the way back from a three-zip deficit to beat a feisty BCS side 6-4.
That game saw an odd pulling of the goalie by Fraser River with nine seconds left in the first half, which backfired big time, as BCS scored into the empty cage to earn a 3-0 lead with 20 minutes remaining.
It didn’t take long for Fraser River to dent the BCS amour, as a quick goal by Ian “Heartbreaker” Hannah gave them the life they needed.
Four straight highlight-reel goals by Levon “Young Gun” Johnson gave them the lead, as BCS penalty trouble prevented any chance of them staging their own comeback.
The first Friday contest pitted BCS against Bear, with the ursine side exacting some revenge from a 4-2 loss in round-robin action that eliminated them from Final contention. Their 4-3 victory wasn’t much solace for a team considered one of the pre-tournament favourites.
Although BCS wound up in fourth place, they were holding their heads high, as their close losses to Serenity and Fraser River in the preliminary round were classics.
In the final game, it looked like Serenity was going to lay an egg, as they were outworked early and were fortunate to only trail 3-1 at Zamboni time.
The Builders once again showed that they were a second-half team, as they poured in three against only one from Fraser River in the first five minutes of the second half.
When “Young Gun” Johnson scored his fourth of the contest to take a 5-4 lead, Serenity didn’t blink, as Keith “The Thief” Burgess notched his hat-trick marker to once again knot the score.
The final 12 minutes of regulation didn’t see any scoring, but there was plenty of frantic action, as the Builders were forced to kill off three straight penalties, including 20 seconds of five-on-three play, to send the game into extra time.
That’s when the dream year for Serenity was crushed, as Fraser River Captain “Heartbreaker” Hannah notched the overtime powerplay winner to hoist the softwood for his third Lumber Cup in a row.
