Joe Whittet's third period goal was the difference maker as the North Bay Midget AAA Trappers held on for a 3-2 win in the fifth and deciding game of the best-of-five series against the Kapuskasing Flyers.
Nick Davis and Matt Hardwick had the other goals for the Trappers who rebounding in game five after a disappointing 5-0 blanking in Kapuskasing [game 4] on Saturday night.
"We knew it was going to be a tough series right from the beginning and they gave us everything they had," stated Trappers head coach Guy Blanchard.
"We are the type of team when the real crunch comes down I think everybody really steps up their game and at the end here they deserved to win. We played hard, we took control most of the game and although it was 3-2 we certainly took the momentum of the game and the players worked hard," added Blanchard who credits a men's league team and Ice Boltz bantam coach Jayde Wolfe for changing ice time schedules to accommodate the Trappers on Memorial Gardens ice Monday night.
The Trappers also played in front of their biggest home crowd of the season on Monday night as Blanchard estimates close to 1000 fans came out to watch the deciding game.
Martin Poisson and Maxim Lacroix had the goals for the 2016 Great North Midget League finalists, who were upset after the game and Blanchard was visibly disappointed in the Flyers coaching staff as he says they refused to shake hands after the contest.
The Trappers now move on to the GNML League finals against the defending League Champion Nickel Capital Wolves.
That series is expected to start this weekend in North Bay with times and dates yet to be determined.
The victory also secures the Trappers spot in the Central Midget Regional Championships which will take place in Sudbury in March. It will be the first time the Trappers have taken part in the Central Midget Regional Championships since 2006 when it was the Trappers who hosted the event at Memorial Gardens.
