The Surrey Hurricanes saved it for when it mattered.

In four previous meetings with the Mission Stars this season, the Surrey club suffered four losses.

Last night at the Cranbrook Rec Plex, the Canes turned it around, claiming the Tier II Midget Provincial Championship with a 4-2 win over the Stars.

“Guys were diving for pucks, blocking shots. The unity on this team is unbelievable,” said assistant coach Al Luporini.

In the other final game yesterday, the Westside Warriors beat the host Cranbrook Ice 5-3 for third place.

The gold medal final ended Surrey’s streak of futility against Mission, which extended to these championships; the Hurricanes suffered a 7-1 drubbing at their hands Monday.

“Their goalie (Wes McLeod) had our number. He’s huge, hard to beat,” said Luporini. “We hadn’t scored more than one goal on this team in four tries, and (last night) got four. To me it just comes down to heart, dedication and how bad they wanted it.”

Mission’s Michael McGowan had given his club a lead less than three minutes in, but Surrey’s Scott McHaffee replied at 16:15.

The Hurricanes pulled ahead on goals a minute-and-a-half apart in the second, from Karan Toor and Alex Vetter.

Vetter scored again early in the third, before Dylan Lynum replied for Mission.

The Stars pulled their goalie in the late stages for an extra attacker, but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Surrey’s dam of enthusiasm broke in the dying seconds after clearing the puck out of their zone; players streamed onto the ice, throwing gloves and helmets everywhere and convening a dog pile in their zone.

The exuberance and equipment had to be gathered back up, however, as a whistle had blown at the 10-second mark and Surrey was charged for too many men on the ice.

After the gear was collected and a player went to the sin bin, the teams played out the last 10 seconds again. The Hurricanes celebrated anew after the final buzzer sounded.

Luporini said it was a fittingly ambiguous end, given the way the team had qualified out of the Lower Mainland.

In that process, they wound up tied with Port Moody after they played to 1-1-1 records.

“They told us goals-for was the first deciding factor, so they told us we were through. Then we got a phone call a day later telling us that’s not the way it is and we had to play Port Moody again to get here. The guys were told that they were through and we had to do it again,” Luporini said.

“So it just had to be: we’re all on the ice, and they put 10 seconds back on the clock. I said, ‘That figures, because we’ve had to work hard all year for it.’”

PLAYING FOR THIRD

Cranbrook had a good shot at taking third place, holding a couple of leads before the gassed-looking crew gave up too many third period chances.

The Warriors held a 1-0 advantage after a first-period goal by Tyler Bateman, but the Ice stormed back with two in the second. Frank Abbott and Connor McLuckie did the damage for the home side.

Westside’s Ryan Schnitzler tied it 15 seconds into the final frame, but McLuckie broke in to score on a partial breakaway at 6:34 to restore the Ice lead.

A couple of goals 26 seconds apart put Cranbrook on its heels. Sheldon Ericsson finished off a pretty passing play at 13:49 to tie the game again, and Tom Creron gave the Warriors their second lead on the next shift.

Warrior Alexander Ganje closed out scoring with 3:18 left.

Cranbrook coach Derrick Anderson was proud of his team’s performance this week, finishing fourth in a field of eight of the best teams in B.C.

“The boys did well, but the whole tournament was a success as far I’m concerned,” he said, tipping his hat to the organizers. “I didn’t hear a single complaint, and the amount of volunteers who helped out was perfect.”