Although last Friday’s Grad Hockey Game had Charles Hays Secondary and Prince Rupert Senior Secondary facing off against one another, on a different level it was a joint effort from the schools to help raise money for their prom and April 1st’s game raised around $4,700 for the class of 2011’s graduation celebration.
Although for a large portion of the game it seemed as if CHSS would come out on top, PRSS came through for its last year and took the title winning 5-4 against CHSS. PRSS Rainmarkers’ coach Jerry Kurka told the Prince Rupert Northern View that he had faith in his team and knew they would come out on top.
“It was a good game. It was fast both ways and very exciting. It was a nail biter,” commented Kurka.
Period one was fairly uneventful in terms of goals with only one being scored by Marcus Atchison from CHSS.
CHSS secured their lead in the first half of period two when Tyler Girbau scored the team’s second goal with assistance from Tyler Ostrum. PRSS netted their first goal of the night at 6:14 in the second, scored by Jordan Vendittelli and assisted by Ryan Feser and Ben Mark.
In the third period the scoreboard was like a teeter-totter, with the lead going back and forth between teams. PRSS’s Ben Mark scored the first goal of the final period, unassisted, bringing the teams to a tie. Mark proved to be a gem for the team throughout the evening assisting in all of PRSS’s goals except for one. Then around five minutes into the third Sten Sundin scored a goal for PRSS, and shortly after Brady Ward scored another giving the Rainmakers a two-point lead. Rainmakers’ fans in the crowd went absolutely wild with excitement over the teams’ sudden lead.
CHSS was not ready to give up just yet. At 8:59 Jadyn Archer scored the Hurricane’s third goal of the evening with the assistance of Girbau and Atchison. Then in the final six minutes, Girbau scored another goal for his team, once again bringing the score to a tie.
With both teams wanting bragging rights, the anticipation and intensity was evident. The Rainmakers’ Ryan Feser had his team and the many vocal Rainmakers’ fans rejoicing when he scored the team’s fifth goal of the game at 4:53, a goal that ultimately earned PRSS the game, a triumphant and sentimental win for the high school’s last year.