A late Ryan Tait goal equalized at 3 to force overtime and ensure a table point, then the league leaders went to an overtime powerplay where Bradley Lalonde bagged the winner to close out a 4-3 win over the visiting Manchester Storm.
Not everyone was even in their seats to see Storm’s opener thanks to Jesper Ohrvall just 20 seconds after puck drop, and that one held up through the rest of the frame.
They added another early one in the 2nd when Cole Carter doubled their advantage at 22:02. However, Mike Crocock cut Flames deficit back to a single just 36 seconds later and a 37th minute Kyle Locke strike had it level at a pair each to start the 3rd.
Inside the back 10 minutes of the final set, Flames went to the powerplay, but couldn’t step ahead, and worse yet for them the penalized player, Finlay Ulrick, stepped onto the ice and found himself with the puck behind all defenders and he beat Taz Burman at 53:36. The lead was relatively short-lived, however as Tait levelled again less than 2 minutes later. They looked to have immediately added another with a tip from Sam Marklund, but a high sticking ruling erased that one to leave them tied at 3 down the stretch and when time ran out that was how regulation ended.
7 seconds into 3 on 3 overtime, a Storm penalty put Flames to a 4 on 3 powerplay and 16 seconds after that it was all over with the Lalonde finish.
Burman stopped 24 of 27 shots, while Storm netminder Hayden Lavigne turned away 41 of 45.
“What a great showing by the guys to not give up on the night,” explained Paul Dixon.
“We had enough of the territory, possession and scoring chances to have had more scoring at the time we were trailing late in the game, but the guys didn’t let that get them down. They just kept coming and were determined to tie it up.”
“It was an exciting night and certainly we are pleased to have taken our chances late to get it to overtime and then made the most of the powerplay opportunity.”
