The Kimberley Dynamiters squeaked out an 8-7 victory in double-overtime against the Creston Valley Thunder Cats last night after suffering an epic third period collapse and blowing a 6-2 lead.

Isaac Schacher was the overtime hero, scoring after he broke down the wing and cut into slot, drawing Cat's goaltender Tyler Moffat out of position.

The Nitros controlled the game for the first two and a half periods, racking up six goals by the third frame, but the T-Cats responded with five unanswered goals to take the lead with two minutes to go. However, a slap shot from Schacher bobbled by 'Cats goaltender Tyler Moffatt trickled into the back of the net in the final minute to tie the game.

Anyone who saw the first two periods and left would've laughed at the thought of Creston mounting a comeback to force overtime.

The Nitros scored twice in the first period and continued their dominance into the second.

Going into the second frame, Rylan Duley scored when he walked into the slot and roofed the puck over Moffatt immediately after a faceoff in the offensive zone.

Jordan Revie increased the lead to four when he notched a goal by drawing the goaltender out of position on an odd-man rush and sniping the top corner.

But Creston fought back a little in the second, as Trevor Hanna got his club on the board, when he picked up the garbage after Nitro stopper Braeden Ostepchuk denied Brandon Formosa on a breakaway.

The Cats cut the deficit in half when Trevor LeBlanc put a shot past Ostepchuk on a four-on-three powerplay.

However, the Nitros staunched the bleeding and Colton Vannucci halted the Creston comeback, scoring from the slot after taking a feed from Senate Patton.

Patton then put the club up to its sixth goal, beating a Creston defenseman on a partial breakaway and sliding a backhand through Moffatt's five-hole.

Sitting comfortable with a 6-2 lead, the Nitros seemed to think they could put up their feet for the remainder.

"We thought we had it in the bag when we obviously didn't," said Vannucci.

Dallin Wolf and Brock Ward dropped the mitts at centre ice and a flurry of fists flashed between the two. Wolf got in some good shots, but Ward took him down to the ice before the zebras jumped into split them up.

After that, the floodgates opened.

Creston scored five unanswered goals in the span of roughly five minutes to take the lead late in the game.

Jesse Collins scored twice; once after receiving a pass right in front of the net when teammate Jordan Johnson scooped up a turnover in the defensive.

Collins also scored a quick goal right after his first, which was followed by a marker by Scott Swinston, who banged in a rebound.

By now, fans collectively cringed every time the Cats gained the offensive zone.

A wraparound from a shot off the glass that dropped behind the net gave Creston the lead with a few minutes to go.

While Ostepchuk had to suffer getting lit up in those five minutes, the blame can't be laid on him for a few of those goals, as the team looked like they collectively folded.

"It was a pretty crazy turn of events," said Ostepchuk. "They got their third goal and got a little confidence, got a quick one-their fourth one after that-and you could see them get some confidence.

"I would've like a few of those back; I feel like I could've ended this game in regulation if I was better, but you know what, they battled hard and didn't quit."

However, Schacher was able to force overtime by scoring with just less than a minute to go.

The Nitros nearly pulled ahead a few dozen seconds later, scoring and lighting the goal lamp, but the play had been whistled dead beforehand.

The first OT period solved nothing and the play moved from four-on-four to three-on-three for double OT.

Creston had a glorious chance to score but a smart poke check by Ostepchuk on Formosa saved the day for the Nitro squad.

"I knew that if I just stayed back, he would've been able to deke me and I would've been burned," said Ostepchuk. "I had to go for it there and I just got lucky and I was able to get enough of it."

But Schacher sealed up the win when he scored the game's final goal in the second overtime frame to thunderous cheers from the stands.

The Nitros play the Thunder Cats again on Friday and head to Fernie on Sunday for their last regular season game.

The organization has a fan bus going to Fernie on Sunday and fans can call Nitro assistant coach Jordan Foreman at 908-0159 to reserve a spot. Deadline to sign up is on Friday.