EDMONTON – With the third seed in the Prairie Division on the line, it was the Golden Bears (5-4-5) who did enough to come away with it, as the Pronghorns (5-6-3) fell just short in a second half comeback bid.
Up 2-0 at the half, the Golden Bears suffered a pair of second half goals from Lethbridge but did enough defensively to see out the result they were looking for. Josh Belbin and Justin George provided a pair of wonder goals for the hosts, in a game that followed the honouring of a trio of graduating senior players: Prince Amanda, Patrick Kondraciuk and Thomas Hope.
Just like in their match against the Huskies on Saturday, the Bears got on the board early. This time it was through Belbin, who found himself with space to shoot from well outside of the penalty area and fired a rocket that beat Brady McLarty in the Lethbridge goal.
Not to be outdone, George proceeded to score a mid-air volley just before the half hour mark, a goal that could have potentially stood as his best of the season if he hadn't landed a bicycle kick just 24 hours previously.
That put the hosts in a great spot heading into the second half, as they knew that all they needed to clinch the third seed was to not lose the game. But while their defensive structure looked very solid all through the first 65 minutes, things changed in a flash when a stumble at the back turned a routine ball over the top into a golden opportunity for the Pronghorns' Joel Jaravata, and the Calgary native made no mistake as he powered the ball past Lucas Robson to cut the lead in half.
An energized Lethbridge side continued to apply pressure from there, and were rewarded with just 10 minutes left to play when Robert Woodroffe-Brown got on the end of a chipped cross from Micah McCusker and headed it home to tie the game. Suddenly with all to play for, the game seemed set for a dramatic finish.
But despite being pegged back by those two goals, the Golden Bears kept their composure and continued to play a solid, defensively-focused game. They managed to spend most of added time deep in the Pronghorns' half, and didn't allow any further big chances. That left them as the happier side when the final whistle blew, keeping a four-game unbeaten run alive and accomplishing their goal of staying ahead of Lethbridge in the standings.
Now, the focus turns towards the playoffs. The Golden Bears will head to Calgary next week to take part in the Dinos' half of the bracket, first facing either UFV or Victoria in the Canada West Quarterfinals. Should they advance to the semis, they'll play either hosts Calgary or Thompson Rivers.
