In a game that defied the shot clock, the Calgary Rockies pulled off a stunning 3-2 overtime victory over the Victoria HA. The story of the game was written in two contrasting narratives: one of relentless pressure and the other of opportunistic finishing. Victoria dominated from the opening face-off, outshooting the Rockies by a staggering 41-11 margin through regulation time. Despite the onslaught, Calgary's goaltender Lucas Lokanc stood tall, turning aside chance after chance to keep his team in the hunt. The third period exploded with all four regulation goals, as Kiefer Tangedal opened the scoring for Calgary, only for Victoria's Greyson Finlay-Johnson and Trevor Smith to answer back, with Smith's goal giving the visitors a late 2-1 lead. With time winding down, Dawson Berdula became the hero for the Rockies, netting the game-tying goal with just 2:38 remaining to force overtime.
The extra frame saw Victoria continue their shooting barrage, adding six more shots to their total, but Lucas Lokanc remained an impenetrable wall in the Calgary net. Then, just over a minute into overtime, the Rockies struck on a swift counter-attack. Merrick Thomson fed a pass to Dawson Berdula, who buried his second goal of the game to complete the dramatic comeback. Berdula’s clutch performance, assisted by Drew Ahlers on both of his tallies, secured a hard-fought two points for the Rockies in a game where they were heavily outplayed but ultimately out-scored, thanks to an unforgettable performance from their goaltender and a timely offensive outburst.