The Brooks Bandits are one win away from a second straight championship after a 2-1 overtime victory against the Nanaimo Clippers in Game 4 of the Rogers BCHL Cup final.
Harry Ahlberg scored the game-winner with 11 seconds left in the first extra period at a sold-out Frank Crane Arena on Wednesday, May 20.
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The win gives Brooks a 3-1 series lead.
Mathis Dufour opened the scoring for the Bandits in the first period.
Nanaimo tied the game in the second period on a power-play goal by Charles Béland, his league-leading 14th of the postseason.
The Clippers thought they had taken the lead in the third period, but the goal was disallowed.
Nanaimo dominated overtime, outshooting Brooks 15-6 and earning a power play, but could not score.
Brooks goaltender Zach Zahara made 43 saves on 44 shots to earn first star honors. Nanaimo's Eliot Séguin-Lescarbeau stopped 37 of 39 shots in the loss.
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The overtime period saw Ahlberg penalized for boarding after a hit on Clippers defenseman Blake Jones, who left the ice with help.
Clippers assistant coach Henry Acres said Jones was fine and would return to the lineup.
Acres declined to criticize the penalty call, saying it was at the referee's discretion. He praised his team's effort despite the loss.
"We had a lot of great looks, also on the power play as well," Acres said.
"We pinned them in, played our game, got our looks as it was really trending in our direction, but at the end of the day, you got to put the puck in the net."
Game 5 is scheduled for Friday, May 22 at Centennial Regional Arena in Brooks, Alberta.
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If the Clippers win, Game 6 will be back in Nanaimo on Sunday, May 24.
