2019 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge

STILLMAN SCORES IN OT, WHITE EDGES RED IN THRILLER

JASON LA ROSE

SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. – Chase Stillman (Peterborough, Ont./Sudbury, OHL) was the hero with 28.1 seconds left in overtime, sending Canada White into the semifinals at the 2019 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge with a 3-2 win over Canada Red on Thursday night.

White – the lone team waving the Maple Leaf to make the final four – will take on the United States in its semifinal on Thursday night in Medicine Hat (7 p.m. MT).

With the clock ticking towards a shootout, Guillaume Richard (Cap-Santé, Que./Tri-City, USHL) carried the puck into the Red zone and found Stillman streaking up the middle. His shot beat Red goaltender Thomas Milic (Coquitlam, B.C./Burnaby Winter Club, CSSHL) past the blocker.

Richard and Red defenceman Kyle Masters (Edmonton, Alta./Red Deer, WHL) were the only players to finish with multiple points, earning a pair of assists apiece.

The teams traded goals in quick succession in the first period; Dylan Guenther (Edmonton, Alta./Edmonton, WHL) netted his third goal in the last two games, taking a short lead feed from Matthew Savoie (St. Albert, Alta./Rink Hockey Academy, CSSHL) and beating Milic, but Connor Lockhart (Kanata, Ont./Erie, OHL) knocked a rebound past White netminder Tyler Brennan (Winnipeg, Man./Prince George, WHL) just 12 seconds later to even things up.

That would be it for scoring for more than 41 minutes as the goaltenders went save-for save; Milic turned aside 23 of the 24 shots he faced through the first two periods, while Brennan stopped 13 of 14.

White finally surged ahead nine minutes into the third when Riley Kidney (Enfield, N.S./Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL) had his centring pass hit a Red defender in front and elude Milic for a power-play goal.

That looked it would stand up as the winner before Wyatt Johnston (Toronto, Ont./Windsor, OHL) sprung Dovar Tinling (Pointe-Claire, Que./Hawkesbury, CCHL) down the left wing, and he went short-side on Brennan with just 2:50 to go to force overtime.

Canada White finished with a 34-27 edge in shots on goal.

The loss sends Canada Red to the fifth-place game; it will face Sweden on Saturday afternoon (3 p.m. CT) in Swift Current.