“I was down in the offensive zone just grinding it out,” Daehn said. “I saw the puck and just shot it on the net and saw it go in.”

Originally, it looked like clear sailing for the Thunder. Ashton Lambert took a slapshot from up high which was originally saved, but it bounced up and over the goalie for the power-play tally 6:29 into the game to put Alabama up 1-0.

“Our power play has been really good all year,” West said. “The top five guys can really move the puck. We had one power-play goal in every [tournament] game.”

Less than three minutes later, Alabama’s special teams struck again, but this time while shorthanded. Owen McDougal raced down the right side and put the puck into the opposite upper corner.

Two minutes later, Lambert scored again on a beautiful pass from Kory Piper from behind the net. Lambert’s quick redirect from the slot left the goalie with no chance.

The 3-0 lead didn’t last long — just 23 seconds — before the Stingrays, and Owen Buzon, began their comeback.

“All season long we teach our kids, we don’t accept quitting,” Charleston coach Matt Mons said. “And that’s anything in life. We’ll just keep at it and keep pushing.”

Buzon scored three unanswered goals to tie the game and cement a natural hat trick.

After the late first period tally, he scored twice later in the second period. From the right side, he snuck one by glove side. Then, left wide open in the slot, he took a pass from the corner by Peyton Sommer and whipped it by the goalie on a one-timer. The three goals gave Buzon a team-high six in the tournament. 

“Owen is a shooter,” Mons said. “He had the hot hand today.”

A potential runaway now turned into a nail-biting third period. The Thunder re-took the lead when Daehn scored his first goal of the tournament after a turnover.

“I liked the way we played all night long,” West said. “Even when we were giving away a little momentum, our guys didn’t panic.”