Mounties coach Jim Creamer was a bit more blunt with his assessment of the unit’s performance.

“Our power play had been atrocious,” said Creamer, who won a 16U national title as a player in the 1980s. “The group that scored it had been struggling. They were our top scoring guys. I spoke with a college coach and we made a couple minor adjustments that really helped us a lot. And they’re great players. When they get a chance to score, they score.”

Chicago, which trailed 3-0 early and 4-1 after one period, rallied to tie it 4-4 with 12:21 remaining when Tyler Cooper gathered in a deflected shot and scored from the left circle.

“We thought we were in a good spot,” Creamer said of the early lead. “But we knew they weren’t going to back down. They’re a great team, they’re well-coached. Their kids played hard. We would have loved to stay up 4-1, but we expected that they’d come back, and they did that.”

The Mounties, who scored 27 goals in their first five tournament games, appeared to gain control with goals by Brayden Willis, Colton Sommer and Rocco Pelosi in less than three minutes for a 3-0 lead with 10:05 left in the first period.

Cooper got Chicago on the board with a backhander from just outside the right post at 9:18 to make it 3-1, but Stephen Cover pushed it back to a three-goal lead with a goal at 6:16 of the first period.

Chicago made it a two-goal game with just under six minutes left in the second period when Cooper circled behind the net and fed Cameron Anderson outside the left post.

The Reapers cut the lead to 4-3 with 1:52 remaining in the period when David Blasiak closed from the left circle and punched it in.

“I think we took a couple penalties that put us on our heels,” Creamer said. “It just happens. They’re 15-year-old kids and anything can happen. They were persistent and both teams stayed with it. Both teams were right there until the end.”

Yakub was one of several Mounties players that won the Youth Tier I 14U national title last season, also in overtime. He said that experience made a difference.

“In the locker room, we talked about the pressure of being up 4-1 and kind of blowing it,” Yakub said. “The guys who were here last year, we rallied the whole group, and we were ready to go after that.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.