The Clarenville Caribous have nailed first place in Newfoundland and Labrador Senior Hockey League play.
Their first-place finish was secured with a convincing 6-1 win over the Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts on Sunday afternoon.
As the clock ticked down the final seconds of the game, Caribou fans at the Clarenville Events Centre began chanting, "We're number one. We're number one."
The Caribous were determined to come out with a win in their final game of the regular season, particularly after dropping the Saturday night game 6-3 to the Cataracts.
The Caribous controlled that game for the first two periods. At the beginning of the intermission, Clarenville was leading 3-0 and it looked like a sure win.
However, the third period was a blow out.
In the early minutes of the third, a weak shot and fumbled save opened the door to a barrage of goals by the Cataracts.
In less than half a period of hockey the Cataracts had bridged the gap and took the lead, and contained the game to 5-3 before things cooled down.
The Caribous tried to mount a return in the final minutes by pulling the goalie while on a power play, but the damage was done.
To seal the deal a final empty net goal was scored by the Cataracts, locking in a 6-3 victory.
A determined Clarenville squad hit the ice Sunday with a determination to win.
The home team capitalized on a powerplay advantage 50 seconds into the second period to get on the board. That lead lasted 20 seconds as the Cataracts replied with a goal by Chris Peach.
With 4:44 remaining in the period when Mitch Bragg put the puck into the net. They added another goal late in the period on a tip in by Ryan Desrosiers to take a 3-1 lead.
At 8:42 of the third frame Jordan Smith let go a blast from just inside the blue line that teammate Chris Hulit redirected into the back of the net.
Andrew Sweetland gave the home team a 5-1 lead when he picked up an errant Cataracts pass deep in the visitors zone. Sweetland moved into the slot and fired a wrist shot that found the back of the net.
The Caribous put the game out of reach after Hulit scored on a pass from Steve Yetman and Desrosiers at 13:04 of the period.
With 36 points, there's no way the Caribous can be bumped out of first place.
The Cataracts currently sit in second place with 28 points while the Corner Brook Royals have 23 points. Fighting it out for the final playoff spot will be the Conception Bay North CeeBee Stars and the Mount Pearl Blades who each have 19 points. All four teams will see action this weekend.
The Mount Pearl Blades will host the Cataracts in their final two games of regular season while the Corner Brook Royals will host the Conception Bay North Stars.
All the Caribous have to do now is wait to see who they will have to play in the semi-finals.
Caribous' head coach Ivan Hapgood says it doesn't make any difference what team they meet.
"Any team is capable of winning on any given day. We played five and a half good periods of hockey on the weekend," says Hapgood. "In Saturday night's game we didn't play well in the final period and the Cataracts came back and took the win."
The Caribous were without the services of Brad Crann and Matthew Bragg on the weekend. The two pair had work commitments. However, they will be available for the playoffs, said Hapgood.
Steve Yetman, who was out with lower leg injury, returned to the lineup this weekend and made his presence known on the scoreboard with a pair of assists. He is a go for the playoffs as well, says the coach.
Meanwhile Hapgood says the players will take the time to relax before the grueling best-of-seven series starts next weekend.
"We don't have any major injuries. Churchill took a shot to the shoulder in Saturday night's game but he'll be fine for the playoffs. The only player we won't have for the playoffs is Chris Ennis. He has work commitments."
