The Similkameen News Leader
Sports Page - January 1, 2008
BEARS LEAD POSSE TO VICTORY
The Valley First Princeton Posse hosted Summerland Sting December 19th in a mid-week match that was designated the 'Teddy Bear Game' where fans were encouraged to bring stuffed animals to the game. The toys were to be tossed on the ice after Princeton scored their first goal and collected for the Princeton Crisis Assistance Society's Christmas Hamper Drive.
Princeton fans only had to wait 10:22 into the game before Princeton's Wade Masch scored the first goal of the night. Assists went to Dan Hillman and Cody Sutherland.
Then the building started raining stuffed animals.
A total of eight garbage bags full of the gifts were collected by Posse players and coaching staff in a short stoppage of play.
When the game resumed, action picked up as Summerland applied pressure to the home team for the balance of the period.
The Sting tied the game with only 37.6-seconds left to play.
The ice cleaner was barely back in the garage after the start of the second period before Princeton broke the 2-all tie.
Brooks Christensen scored an unassisted goal at 1:57 but Summerland never let up and tied the game again at 5:11.
Although only eleven penalties were called during the entire game, the majority of them six totaling 28-minutes were issued in the second period. Roughing and high sticking calls pretty much describe the style of play in the 20-minute frame.
The third period saw more of the same and looked as though the teams were going to head into overtime and possibly a shoot out to decide the winner.
Those fears disappeared when Micah Anderson took a pass from Dylan Becker and sailed along the boards in front of the penalty box and fired a shot from the blue line across the goal crease and just inside the far goal post. Brooks Christensen also received an assist.
Summerland pulled their goalie in favour of an extra man with only 44.5-seconds to play. The move looked as if it could produce a tie to force overtime, but Princeton kept the play moving out of their zone.
With 3.1-seconds left, Brett Van Riper passed to Tyler Martin who took the puck to the boards and scored on the empty net with a shot from in front of the Sting bench.
Shots on goal: Princeton 32, Summerland 29. Final score: Princeton 4, Summerland 2. The Princeton Dairy Queen/Finning Tractor Kamloops Players of the Game were: #1: Tyler Martin, #2: Micah Anderson and #3: Brett Van Riper.
