Lakeland Eagles goaltender Rod Branch makes a key save in the first overtime period of game one in the team’s best-of-seven North Peace Hockey League final against Spirit River March 15 at H.W. Fish Arena. The Eagles went on to eventually lose the on-ice thriller by a 4-3 count after the Rangers scored the game winner at 15:31 of the second overtime period.

The North Peace Hockey League’s Lakeland made the most of a must-win situation last Thursday, pulling off a dramatic overtime victory to pick up their first win in their best-of-seven Campbell Cup final against the Spirit River Rangers. And it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time for a team that was facing a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 deficit in the series before battling back in game three at H.W. Fish Arena March 20 for a thrilling 5-4 win. “We needed that one,” said co-coach Jimmy McLean after the game. “Being down 2-1 in the series is a heck of a lot better than 3-0. It gives us a psychological edge by totally changing the perception of this series.” McLean’s comments came one night after the Eagles erased a 4-2 second period gap with two goals in the final 20 minutes, including Matt Hunter’s game-tying effort at 14:37, to force sudden death overtime. And his heroics didn’t end there. Hunter was also responsible for the eventual game winner at the 52 second mark of overtime after he carried the puck into the offensive zone and unleashed a bullet which found the top corner of the net and sent the crowd into a frenzy. Also scoring for Lakeland in the game was Kelly Cunningham James Tallman and Junior Anderson. Game one recap Game one of the series featured a double overtime thriller with the Rangers prevailing 4-3 after scoring the winner at 15:31 of the second overtime period. It was a tough loss for the Eagles, which rebounded from a 3-1 deficit in the third period with two goals from Jay Anderson in a span of 23 seconds to force a sudden death overtime period. The two teams exchanged goals in the opening stanza with Travis Cunningham picking up the lone marker for Lakeland with a power-play goal at 8:49 from Todd Holt and Mark Lindsay. Spirit River went up 3-1 in the second on a pair of goals which came in the final four minutes of play. Rangers take game two 6-4 Game two of the series shifted to Spirit River where the Rangers outscored Lakeland by a count of 4-2 in the opening 40 minutes. The short-benched Eagles only lead of the game came in the first three minutes of the second period when T. Cunningham and Steven Cunningham buried even strength goals to erode a 1-0 first period edge by the Rangers. Spirit River did, however, respond later in the period with three even strength goals of their own for the two-goal cushion heading into the third period. Lakeland made it 4-3 at the 3:06 mark on Jay Anderson’s first goal of the game before the Rangers responded with one of their own at 5:48. S. Cunningham cut the lead to 5-4 with his second goal of the game at 9:49 mark before the Rangers put the game on ice at the 15-minute mark with a power-play goal to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Campbell Cup final. Game four was last Saturday in Spirit River. Game five takes place March 25 at H.W. Fish while game six is April 1 in Spirit River. Game seven, if necessary, is April 3 in McLennan