The Clarenville Caribous showed true grit in Sunday afternoon's victory against the visiting Corner Brook Royals.
They escaped with a 7-4 outcome despite a third period rally by the Royals which saw them fall just inches short of a comeback.
The game got off to a quick start with Caribous forward Ryan Desrosier taking a quick pass up the side only to be denied by the Royals net minder, Brad Dyke.
Dale Sullivan flubbed a backhand attempt seconds after, which cost the Caribous minutes later when a defensive breakdown by Jordan Smith resulted in the Royals potting the game's opener.
The deficit was quickly erased when Steve Yetman unleashed a wicked clapper top-cheddar from a nifty outlet pass by line-mate Desrosier.
A few minutes later the Caribous had a goal disallowed due to the net being knocked off. The crowd figured it was intentionally done by the Royals and let it be known with a chorus of, "Come on refs."
The power play then came alive for the Caribous who potted two more before the period was over on gems by Desrosier and Jeff Caron, both on the advantage.
In the second there was little action. The Royals were able to briefly bridge the gap bringing the game back within one, at 3-2. The Caribous disapproving, fired back with a goal to close out the period at 4-2.
It was Brandon Roach's clutch defense, in the third that preserved the victory when he swept the puck off the goal line at 7:16 to keep the Caribous ahead by a razor-thin margin after the Royals had clawed back to within one.
The Caribous potted two more after Roach's heroics, which allowed the crowd to breath a little easier.
Coach Ivan Hapgood credits the team's hard work as well as the addition of Caron to the power-play for the teams success.
The combination of Yetman, Desrosier and captain Dustin Russell combined for 10 points in the victory with Desrosier pushing his league leading tally to 25 points.
It was a much cleaner affair than the previous night which saw multiple penalties recorded, but that didn't stop Royals enforcer Jake Easton from getting himself ejected again.
For more coverage see Thursday's edition of The Packet.
