Buzzer beater

Ryan Burton knows how to win over a crowd.

The Thunder Bay Kings forward saved his best for last, scoring a breakaway goal with just 4.4 seconds left on Wednesday night to help his team salvage a 3-2 win over the Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs and put the Kings in control of their own destiny at the Ontario Bantam AAA provincial championship.

Playing in front of a friendly Fort William Gardens crowd, and having watched his team blow a two-goal lead with less than five minutes to play, the St. Ignatius High School student said it’s a moment he’ll never forget.

“It’s definitely the biggest goal of my career. I haven’t scored a game-winner like that and it sets the tempo for tomorrow,” said the Kings latest hero.

Burton wrestled the puck away from a Hamilton defender along the boards with 10 seconds to go, then raced in from centre ice to beat Hamilton goalie Michael Calouri.

He said he felt the pressure the whole way down the rink.

“All I was thinking was if I miss it’s going to be the end of the world. I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight,” he said.

Thursday will decide the Kings (3-2) fate at the seven-team tournament. With six points they’re alone in second and have a date scheduled with Ottawa Valley, a squad that has a win and three ties in five games. Ottawa beat the Northwestern Ontario All-Stars 5-1 on Wednesday afternoon. A win or a tie would cement the Kings playoff chances.

Thunder Bay is one point up on a trio of teams, including Ottawa and the Soo, with Mississauga already guaranteed one of four semifinal berths at 4-0-1.

“It’s a good chance that we’re going to win tomorrow, because we’ve got the tempo. So we’ve got a good chance,” Burton said. “To make the semifinal would mean a lot because a lot of people thought we were going to be the underdogs in the tournament, but we showed the crowd that we can really play.”

Both teams started out slowly, neither side wanting to give up anything in a fierce playoff positioning battle featuring two teams who entered play with four points apiece.

Neither the Kings nor the Bulldogs were able to solve the other team’s goaltender in a scoreless opening period, and the second period appeared to be headed that direction until the final three minutes, when Liam Coulter, with his team-leading third of the tournament, and Nicholas Nigro, scored 55 seconds apart to stake Thunder Bay to a 2-0 lead.

Coach Vern Ray said he gave his players his best advice during the flood, but on a team full of 14- and 15-year olds, the message didn’t quite sink in far enough.

“I thought we handled it quite well for the first two. I said, ‘You’ve got a wounded dog down, you’ve got to kick him, but they took their foot off the gas for a bit and we let them back in,” Ray said. “Fortunately we got a little break there at the end and Ryan gave us what we needed.”

The biggest detriment was a steady stream to the penalty box. In the final 20 minutes of play the Kings took five straight minors, and though none officially cost them – they were 9-for-9 killing penalties – they did have them on their heels all night, which led to Ryan Murphy’s first goal at 13:23, four second after Bryce Martin stepped out of the box.

Murphy struck again with just 37 seconds to play, catching Thunder Bay’s Dalton Demerah out of position with a wraparound goal that knotted the score and seemingly kept Hamilton’s playoff hopes alive.

They’ll need plenty of help on Thursday to advance. At 1-2-2, they have to beat Elgin-Middlesex and hope some of the teams ahead of them at give points falter.

Bantam bites: Elgin-Middlesex’s Jared McCann leads all tournament scorers with 14 points through five games ... Sault Ste. Marie’s Anthony Stefano, who had five goals against the Kings on Monday, had seven goals to lead the way in that category ... The Kings fell 3-0 to Mississauga earlier in the day ... In the day’s first game a 3-3 tie with Ottawa, Elgin-Middlesex coach Merlin Malinowski was tossed for harassing an official. The former NHLer, who spent time with the Colorado Rockies, Hartford Whalers and New Jersey Devils, earned a two-game suspension for his efforts and will miss Friday’s finale.

First period
Scoring: No scoring. Penalties: Burton TB (pre-game violation) 0:00, Dykstra HAM (roughing) 2:51, James HAM (tripping) 9:56, Parrott TB (elbowing) 14:05.

Second period
Scoring: 1. Thunder Bay, Coulter 3 (Burton, Langen) 12:19. 2. Thunder Bay, Nigro 2 (Arabia, McKee) 13:14. Penalties: Walsh TB (high sticking) 0:08, Rotter HAM (high sticking) 3:21, Arabia TB (hooking) 4:05, Burnett HAM (roughing) 4:52, Coulter TB (roughing) 9:59.

Third period
Scoring: 3. Hamilton, Murphy (Hanley-Pugliese) 10:52. 4. Hamilton, Murphy (unassisted) 13:23. 5. Thunder Bay, Burton (Martyn) 14:55. Penalties: Masters TB (high sticking) 3:16, Walsh TB (roughing) 6:52, Martyn TB (slashing) 11:19.

Game Data – SOG – Hamilton 3-7-13-23, Thunder Bay 5-12-5-22; Power plays (goals-chances) – Hamilton (0-9), Thunder Bay (0-4); Goaltenders – Hamilton: Michael Calouri, Thunder Bay: Dalton Demerah; A: 500 (estimated).