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Tinker Can Am wins championship in double overtime

  • Published
  • By John E. Banks
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla., --   It took two sudden-death overtime periods to determine the champion of the Oklahoma City Adult Hockey League Division II.

At the 3:50 mark of the second overtime, Will Natynczyk grabbed a rebound and scored the game-winner as the Tinker Can Am squad knocked off the No. 1 seeded Raiders 3-2 May 6 at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena in Edmond.

Tinker right winger Jeremy Brennan said the team had looked forward to the championship game against the Raiders all season.

"We have lost to this team three consecutive times and after coming out of the elimination bracket, we are playing at the top of our game," he said.

The first period was a defensive struggle for both sides. Each team played a tight game, not wanting to make an early mistake.

The Raiders capitalized on a Tinker Can Am miscue late in the period and took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

In the second period, the Hawks applied heavy pressure when they had the puck in the Raiders' zone. At the 6:26 mark, Center James McCarron took a pass from defenseman Justin Smith, skated in on goal and lifted a quick backhander into the net to tie the score at one.

The remainder of the period the Raiders peppered Can Am goalie Doug Publicover with shot after shot. He was up to the task and kept the Raiders off the scoreboard.

Tinker turned up the heat and put on the pressure on the Raiders during the early stages of the period.

With the Tinker team killing a penalty, McCarron stole a pass at center ice. He sent a pass to right winger Jason Stefanski whose shorthanded goal gave the Can Am squad a 2-1 lead at 6:44.

The Raiders tied the score late in the third period to send the game into overtime.

In the first overtime, Publicover stopped all 13 of the Raiders shots on goal.

"This was a total team effort tonight," said Tinker center James Behn. "Our defense tightened up, our goaltending was spectacular and our offense scored when we needed it."

The three stars of the game were McCarron who had a goal and two assists; Publicover who turned away 40 of 42 shots; and Chris Beatty, who was a stalwart on the defensive side.