A single game quarter-final showdown to advance set the stage for high-school boys hockey Monday night at the Carmichael Arena - and the Confederation Chargers and St Benedict Bears were more than happy to step into the spotlight.
Truth be told, fans of both games were treated to some very exciting hockey.
After closing out Division I regular season play with five straight losses, including an 8-3 setback at the hands of the Horizon Aigles, few in attendance likely figured that the Collège Notre-Dame Alouettes were about to give Horizon much of a push in the 6th vs 3rd matchup that kicked things off.
A 2-0 lead late in the first period courtesy of goals by Kyle Buckland and Owen Mainville suggested the Alouettes had other thoughts in mind.
The Aigles, however, did not finish with nearly twice as many regular season points as CND solely on the basis of good fortune. Gradually, they worked their way back into the game, initially on a late first period tally from Noah Lefrancois.
Second period markers from Caleb Audette and Seth Goudreau gave Horizon a 3-2 lead, but with the team running into some penalty issues early in the final frame, Notre-Dame had ample chance to deadlock this contest.
Misfiring on some, stymied by goaltender Ethan Marshall on others, the Als still trailed by a goal with five minutes to play. A snipe from André Blais provided the cushion that the Aigles needed, adding an empty-net goal from Seth Goudreau to earn a 5-2 win, advancing to face the Lo-Ellen Park Knights in a best of three affair.
The matchup of 4th and 5th was even more hotly contested, no great surprise given that both St Benedict and Confederation finished the season with identical records of 7-6-2.
The Bears had momentum on their side with two periods in the books as one goal in each of the first two frames, first by Zach Pelletier, and in the second by Adam Haslam, on the power-play, had the south end school looking good.
The third period, however, was wild.
Cue the comeback, to start, as Jordy Giroux, Josh Vis and Meeka Duguay all find the back of the St Benedict net in a span of just over four minutes, propelling the Chargers to a 3-2 lead.
The momentum swings were not done yet.
Zach Pelletier (7:09 - STB), Josh Vis (8:49 - CFD) and Pelletier, again (13:33 - STB) send this contest to overtime, tied at 4-4.
"My winger, Meeka Duguay, and I, we always light it up," suggested Jordy Giroux, celebrating his game-winning three on three goal at the 51 second mark of overtime as Confederation trims St Benedict 5-4.
"We always play good together and end up finding each other."
The pair had already been involved in three of the four Charger goals in regulation time before the craziness of three on three ensued, a completely different game, as hockey fans have come to know.
"I haven't played a lot of three on three but Meeka has, so he was explaining it to me," said Giroux.
A long stretch pass would seen Duguay in alone on the breakaway, but Bears' netminder Logan Noccey came up with a big pad save. With the loose puck behind the net, Duguay would circle out and find Giroux on the other side of the crease, booking the Chargers' tickets to do battle with the defending champion St Charles College Cardinals in the semis.
"We had to stay composed and not lose our energy," suggested Giroux of this roller-coaster affair. "We needed to keep our energy high."
And they will need to find it quickly, yet again, with SCC waiting in the wings come Wednesday as the teams work their way towards the city finals later this month, with both boys and girls OFSAA Hockey Championships taking place in Sudbury from March 18th to the 22nd.
