Perry the hero in OT thriller

Tyler Perry ended a wildly entertaining School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial 3A Floor Hockey Qualifying Championships with a wraparound goal early in extra time to send the Glovertown Academy Eagles into a frenzy.

The Eagles and Lester Pearson Memorial High School Astros put on a show for the roughly 50 people who packed the Glovertown Academy gymnasium stage on Saturday. After the Eagles took an early 1-0 lead, the Astros replied with a pair to go ahead 2-1. From there the game was like a broken record. The Eagles would tie the game, only to see the Astros score the go-ahead goal. This pattern continued until the Eagles tied the game late in the second half to send the contest into overtime.

That's when Perry, one of the emotional leaders of the Eagles, put the game away for good.

"I got the ball down by their bench and came behind their net looking to make a pass. But I ended up going for the wraparound at the last second and scored five-hole. The celebration went on, my legs went weak and I fell over," said Perry with a laugh, moments after the players posed for team pictures.

After scoring the goal that qualified the Eagles for provincials, which will be played at MSB Regional Academy in Middle Arm beginning April 30, Eagles' players Kevin Janes and Johnny Butt hoisted Perry on their shoulders and carried him around the gym.

"It went back and forth the entire game," said Perry. "They got a few lucky bounces, and it was time for us to get one back. It just so happens that the last one is the one that counted most. It was a crazy game...I'm pretty pumped that we won it."

Eagles' head coach Juan Gill said to win the game in overtime was "sweet." The Eagles and Astros have played a lot of floor hockey against each other the past few years, and for the younger players on the team, wins against the Astros have been hard to come by.

"Over the past seven years, the Eagles and Astros have been back and forth, but for the 1992 kids, they've never had that great experience against the Astros - they've always been beaten by Wesleyville," said Gill. "To beat Lester Pearson in this game is great for those guys."

The win didn't come easy for the youth from Glovertown Academy. Besides their opening goal, their Wesleyville rivals never let them take the lead. It was a grind to the very end, but Gill said he remained confident that the moment belonged to his team.

"Once we went into overtime, I knew it was our game, and I knew the boys would end it fairly quickly. I was very positive," said Gill. "These kids are a fantastic group, too. The boys have a lot of heart and they've showed it all year. They did a really good job battling."

Gill has seen his fair share of exciting games as both a coach, and fan. Whether it's ice hockey, basketball, volleyball or floor hockey, he's seen a number of games decided by one or two points, and games won or lost by last-second shots. This game, he said, ranks up there with the best of them.

"This game ranks in the top five of game I've seen through school sports," he said. "Both teams showed great sportsmanship and there's great sports camaraderie between the two teams. We also beat them in the round robin 9-7, so both games at this tournament were squeakers."

With the provincial qualifying tournament now in the past, Gill, Perry and the rest of the boys are concentrating on Middle Arm and bringing home a provincial banner to go with the qualifying banner.

"I can't wait...road trip with my teammates," said Perry. "It should be a laugh."

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