INNISFAIL – Fatigue had set in for both teams but Eagles assistant captain Ty Clay still had it in him to take full advantage of a scoring opportunity.
It was getting late in the evening on Sunday, Feb. 23 for the Innisfail Eagles and Wetaskiwin Longhorns and they had played almost seven and a half periods of gruelling senior men’s hockey in the past 24 hours but as the adage goes, “where there is a will there is a way."
“(Mike) Marianchuk was over there, and he made an unreal pass behind the back and right on my stick in the slot, and I was wide open and it went into the net,” said Clay. “It’s a lot of hockey, especially playing last night late up there (Wetaskiwin) and coming back with a quick turnaround and we played five more periods here today.
“It’s a battle but credit goes to the guys,” he added. “Everybody stuck with it and everybody worked hard tonight. It was a group effort.”
Most importantly the Birds won Game 2 of the North Central Hockey League semifinals by a score of 3-2 to tie the series at one game apiece.
The night before the Longhorns had everything go their way in their home rink and won handily 5-1.
But it was a different story the next evening in Innisfail.
The Birds made the game a battle right from the start, and everyone on the ice just kept going with a purpose.
“You see those guys work so hard all night long, and the effort they put in, and they're getting tired, they're getting exhausted, but they just keep going to war,” said Eagles head coach Ryan Dodd. “You see this room now? They're ecstatic with the win, and it builds momentum for you in the series.
“Going back to Wetaskiwin,” he declared. “These guys (Longhorns) don't want to play us in a best-of-three. It's going to be a war, and we're built for a war.”
The best-of-five semifinal series moves back to Wetaskiwin for Game 3 on Saturday, March 1.
Game 2 on Feb. 23 once again saw the Longhorns get on the board first on a goal by Martin Sonnenberg at 12:17 of the opening period.
The Eagles then replied with Quintin Lisoway scoring at 6:51.
But Wetaskiwin came back quickly at 5:07 with a marker from Zach Ayotte and the Longhorns had a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.
The second period was scoreless.
However, the Eagles stormed back to tie the game early in the third on a goal by Chase Thudium.
The rest of the third period featured numerous scoring chances by each team but both goalies held their respective forts and the game went into overtime tied at 2-2.
And at 14:01 of the second overtime period it was all over on Clay’s dramatic goal.
The Eagles were jubilant; the Longhorns physically drained but certainly not dispirited.
Wetaskiwin coach Jared Veuger described the game as “a war of attrition” that was decided on “one lucky bounce.
“It's a war of attrition. The Eagles came out really hard tonight, and they gave it,” said Veuger. “They pushed us hard, and it took us right to the end, five hours of hockey for a bunch of grown men that worked all week, had a practice, and travelled up and down the highway.
“At the end, it was one lucky bounce that was the difference between the win and loss late on a Sunday afternoon.”
Over the entire game the Eagles outshot the Longhorns by a margin of 61-44, with Innisfail goalie Chance Griffith claiming the victory.
In the other NCHL semifinal, the Lacombe Generals defeated the Stony Plain Eagles 5-3 on Feb. 23 to take a commanding two games to zero lead in their best-of-five series.
