Game 5
Calgary Mustangs vs. Manitoba Vikings
Manitoba Technical House, Winnipeg
Even the Mustangs, if pressed, would probably find it pretty hard to admit that this wasn't a perfect match to end the season.
The crowd at the Tech were treated to a 9-5 shootout as the Mustangs went down in a blaze of glory, their fairy tale concluding not with a happily ever after but at least with a determined "We will return". All five of Calgary's goals came in the second period and at one point they led 5-3, but the Vikings had the legs and the tactics to put the Mustangs away at the very end.
The win, as well as padding out the scoring efforts of Jonathon Gagnon (1 goal, three assists) and Marcus Loow (1 goal, two assists) was a vindication of the kind of free-flowing hockey that had led the Vikings to such success this season. Graham Nichols and Steve Austin ran plays to net back to back goals for first Randolph Gray, and then Kan Kinnunen, owing a lot to the coaching of Chris Miller.
The deeper into the third period they went, the more and more desperate the Mustangs became and the freer and freer the Vikings seemed, until the front line of Homer, Gagnon and Loow were scoring virtually at will. Each netted a goal in the final frame. Gagnon finished the postseason with 16 goals and 17 assists to lead the league and set a very high benchmark for years to come.
After the game, we spoke to the coaches and some of the players.
"Well, it's disappointing, of course," Filip Petersson said. "We came all this way and it just fell apart at the end. We needed to play better during the season, I think."
"It was an incredible ride," Juraj Gajdos added. "Part of me can't believe it's over."
Vikings captain Dale Brenneman described the feeling as "a dream come true."
"We've been wanting for so long to bring a championship home to Winnipeg," Brenneman stated, noting the 11 year gap between championships for the Vikings. "This town, this province, have been so loyal to us over the years. This is our way of paying them back."
The Vikings have won the St. Lawrence Trophy seven times - six of those in Seattle - before this season. As well as their eighth St. Lawrence Trophy, they become the first team ever to win the Cameron Phillips Memorial Trophy.
Brenneman became the first ever captain to lift the Phillips Memorial Trophy in front of a screaming home crowd. The first season of Premier League Hockey has been a huge success, and looks like it's here to stay.
Your 1986 Phillips Trophy Champions
Manitoba Vikings