The Port Hardy Juiceheads faced off against the Courtenay Whalers in the women’s hockey finals of the Port Hardy Wild Tournament at the Don Cruickshank Memorial Arena.
The game was a defensive stalemate for most of the first period, until the Juicehead’s Randi Ward managed to draw first blood, scoring from the point with 6:32 left on the clock.
The Whalers ended up taking a penalty near the end of the first period, but the Juicehead’s couldn’t capitalize on the ensuing power play.
Into the second period, the Juicehead’s managed to kill off a penalty of their own, only for the Whalers to score right after, bringing the game to a 1-1 tie.
After back and forth chances at both ends of the ice, the Whalers scored again, pulling ahead of the Port Hardy Juicehead’s 2-1 on the scoreboard.
With 7:50 left on the clock in the second period, the Courtenay Whalers took a bad body checking penalty that would ultimately cost them big later on, as the Juicehead’s Sara Grove scored a clutch power play goal to tie the game 2-2 with two minutes left in the period.
As regulation time wound down, the Courtenay Whalers player who was penalized earlier for body checking was ejected from the game.
In overtime, the Juicehead’s pressured the Whalers for almost ten minutes straight, hunting for the winning goal.
With 1:02 left in OT, The Juicehead’s Kirstie Bradshaw netted the game winner as the hometown crowd erupted in cheers for the come from behind win.