Hockey fans in the Coca-Cola Centre hoping for a little overtime in Game 3 of an Alberta Midget Hockey League quarterfinal playoff game between the hometown Grande Peace Athletic Club Ernie's Sports Experts Storm and the Edmonton SSAC Athletics Saturday went home disappointed.
They can thank Mason Hartman for that.
Hartman scored two goals in the final three minutes of the third period - including the game-winner with just 2.3 ticks remaining on the clock - to give the Storm a 3-2 victory and a 2-1 edge in the best-of-five playoff.
Game 4 goes Sunday afternoon in Edmonton and a fifth game, if needed, would be at 5:30 p.m. back in the Coke Can on Tuesday.
In what was a see-saw battle between the Dodge Division No. 3 seed (the Storm) and the No. 6 seed both the Storm and Athletics took the lead before Hartman's final seconds heroics.
A powerplay goal by Jayden Watson got the Storm off on the right foot at 15:08 of the first period.
SSAC's leading regular season point-getter Mitchell Verenka tied it at ones just 19 seconds into the second with that period's only tally.
Edmonton took a 2-1 lead when Jonathan Miller scored at 13:23 of the third.
And then Hartman, a 17-year-old who calls Manning home, went to work.
The Charles Spencer high school student tied the game at 2-2 at 17:12 and then cleared the Storm bench, and got himself 19 on-ice hugs, with the winner in what was the biggest game of the year .... until today ... for the Storm.
Edge Lambert and Clayton Brown also did their part offensively with two assists each.
Storm netminder Cam Beson made 27 saves while Ryley Osland at the other end turned aside 26.
The Storm took six minor penalties and a 10-minuter handed to Lambert while the Athletics sat out five minors.
The Storm had tied the series at 1-1 on Friday with a 4-2 win in Edmonton.
Kaden Reinders, Kail Magnusson, Lambert and Watson scored in that game while Verenka and Jacob Bodnaruk scored for the A's. Beson made 31 saves and Osland 35 in that game.