In a series that clearly could have gone either way, the Williams Lake Stampeders fell just short of advancing their season to the Coy Cup Senior Men’s AA Provincial Championship.
The Powell River Regals sent Williams Lake packing in a tightly-contested best-of-three series where all three games went to overtime, winning 2-1 on home ice Sunday to seal the deal.
The two teams squared off as part of a backdoor challenge for the final seed at the Coy Cup Senior Men’s AA Provincial Championship to join host Fort Nelson Yeti, the Fort St. John Flyers and the Terrace River Kings.
Friday saw the Stampeders drop a 4-3 overtime decision, before the team rebounded Saturday with a 5-4 victory after Nathan Zurak, on a setup from his brother, Aaron Zurak, lit the lamp.
Sunday’s contest was a defensive affair, knotted up at 1-1 following regulation. Nathan, again, provided the Stamps’ offence with Jassi Sangha and Andrew Fisher credited with the assists, before the Regals ended the series in overtime to end the three-time Coy Cup champions’ season.
The Stampeders finished the season with one of its best regular-season records in history after a 15-1 campaign. The team continued on to advance to the Central Interior Hockey League playoff finals, where they were edged by the Terrace River Kings in a three-game series.