The Perth Blue Wings scored with 1.7 seconds left in overtime to capture the Barkley Cup in front of an electric home crowd Tuesday night with a 3-2 victory.
They beat the Casselman Vikings in five games, after losing in six to the same Vikings squad in last year’s final.
Blue Wings Head Coach Bryan Greer said it was that disappointment which motivated the returning players to write a different ending the second time around.
Keagan Johnston tipped a long shot from Lleyton McLean by Zachari Racine as the seconds wound down, and sent the Perth Arena into a frenzy.
That was the final moment of the Blue Wings captain’s junior career, a moment he said was made sweeter by beating the team who took them down in last year’s final.
Four of the five games in the championship series needed overtime to decide a winner.
FINAL: The Perth Blue Wings are your 2022-23 Barkley Cup Champions, scoring with 1.7 seconds left in OT to take down the defending champion Casselman Vikings pic.twitter.com/2fPd39SREK
— Grant (@grantdeme) April 12, 2023
Blue Wings goaltender Brady McEwan was named playoff MVP, posting a 12-1-1 record with a 0.948 SV% and 2.10 goals against average.
He credits that accolade, and being named EOJHL Goaltender of the Year after the regular season, to the guys up front.
Greer said McEwan was a difference maker all season long.
League MVP McLean led the Blue Wings and EOJHL in playoff points, finishing with 11 goals and 7 assists across 14 games.
Rookie of the Year Travis Ouellette and forward Justin Salter shared a five-way tie for second in points with 14.
The Blue Wings finished the 2022-23 campaign with a combined record of 49-5-2.
Story by Grant Deme
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