The Tumbler Ridge Raptors went into the B division playoffs in Fort St. John as the underdog, only ahead of one of the four opponents in the league standings.
Grinding out wins in the first three games, they solidified a spot in the final game, but had to play the Fort St. John Fast Trax to finish off the round robin.
They lost that game 7-2.
Which put them up against the same team in the finals. With the odds stacked against them they came out playing hard, but were quickly down 5–1 after the first period.
Playing some good back and forth hockey and getting some lucky breaks, they went into the second intermission down 6–4.
With just one period left, the Raptors banded together and came out flying in the third period. They managed to tie the game 7–7 and shortly after took an 8–7 lead.
After a costly Raptors penalty, the Fast Trax team pulled their goalie for a two player advantage. With the Fort St. John net sitting tantalizing empty, the Fast Trax managed to score with only 13 seconds left in regulation. The teams were headed to overtime.
The first shift saw some great chances at both ends. With Fort St. John taking a penalty, the Raptors were on the power play. The Raptors dumped the puck into the Fort St. John end, and chased it down hard. Some great pressure from forward Julian Gulick caused a turnover from Fort St. John, and the puck found it’s way onto the stick of Raptors captain, Hudson Pittman. Beating the last Fort St. John defender with some quick hands, Pittman launched a rocket of a shot high blocker side. The puck found the back of the net, and two minutes into overtime, the Raptors took the division championship.
