They did it!
The 100 Mile House Wranglers skated off the ice with their hometown fans cheering wildly after they knocked off the Summerland Steam 3-1 to capture the Okanagan/Shuswap Conference Championships on March 21.
It has been an incredible playoff run for the third-year Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) team.
They have battled all the way through the playoffs – grit and determination, the will to win, great defence, impeccable goal tending, and team scoring have been the magic ingredients.
Summerland opened the scoring in the first period, but the Wranglers had a huge second stanza.
Ryan Friesen (Brett Harris) tied the game 1-1 when he punched the puck through Steam goalie Matthew Huber in a scramble in front of the Steam net on a power play midway through the second period.
Nick McCabe scored the winning goal unassisted at 6:08, and Friesen (Austin Turner, Tavis Roch) got the insurance marker at 2:45 on a power play.
From there is was kitty-bar-the-door.
Now, the Wranglers take on the Kootenay Conference champions Kimberley Dynamiters for the 2016 KIJHL Championship.