Fans were already heading for the exits. The Zamboni sat idling beyond the goal line. The cleanup crew was already gathering empty cups and hotdog wrappers. Then Keelan Saworski banged one in past Beaver Valley Nitehawks goalie Owen Sikkes and tied it up 2-2 with a mere minute left in the third period, sending this one to overtime.
He scored after Mitch Titus won the faceoff in the Nitehawks zone and got the puck to Tristan Downe who passed to the talented right-winger for his ninth goal of the season.
“I just got the puck walked in and took the shot,” said Saworski.
Ryan Kennedy was the overtime-hero. He was handed a 10-minute misconduct with only nine minutes left in the third. It turned out to be a fortuitous penalty because he was well rested when it expired about a minute into overtime.
Kennedy had enough spring in his step to score the game-winning goal against Beaver Valley Sunday night.
“I saw that I had the step on the defenceman,” he said. “I was in the dressing room five minutes before that so I was pretty fresh and I managed to beat him wide.”
Kennedy had enough open space to unleash a wrist shot to the short side, scoring his eighteenth of the year and winning the last game of the regular season 3-2 for the Riders.
“It was nice to get that [win] for the boys,” he said.
The Riders have momentum on their side moving into a postseason series against the Kimberley Dynamiters after winning their last two regular season games.
“It’s huge for us,” said Kennedy. “Especially the way we did it. Sticking with the system all game long even though we were down a goal. We got the one late to tie it up there and get the win in overtime.”
“We know we can get a win if we just put our minds to it,” he added.
Ghostriders’ head coach Craig Mohr said defeating the best team in the KIJHL was a nice way to end the regular season. The Nitehawks are first in their division and have only lost five games all season.
“They’re good,” he said. “And you have to play your best when you play teams like that or else they dominate you. It’s never a bad thing beating Beaver Valley. It’s good for moral because that is a first class hockey club over there and it’s always fun when you can get something from them.”
“Every single player on our team contributed. It was just one of those games. I thought all the goalies played well tonight,” he said.
Mohr said Fernie could not let its guard down against Kimberley in the playoffs.
“I’ve been in this racket long enough,” he said. “I’ve been on teams that lost their last two and then gone on a roll.”
The win came after the Riders dismantled the Golden Rockets 7-1 in Sparwood Friday night. Golden does not have a spot in the postseason but Mohr credited them with playing a disciplined game.
The Riders begin the postseason with a pair of games against the Kimberley Dynamiters Friday and Saturday night at the Kimberley Civic Centre. They’ll be returning to Fernie Memorial Arena for two home games on Monday and Tuesday. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.
“Now the fun starts,” said Mohr.