The Chef Bombay Lions and Leprechauns delivered a barnburner that had everything: a seven-goal opening frame, dramatic comebacks, and a late penalty shot that finally decided a 6-5 triumph for the Leprechauns. The first period was an absolute offensive explosion, with neither team able to establish any defensive footing. It began with the Leprechauns striking first, as #89 Liam Maynes opened the scoring at 11:16, assisted by Ethan Barich and Conrad Scheuer. Brady Semeniuk made it 2-0 just moments later, with Maynes picking up an assist. But the Lions roared right back, as Aden Hemraj (#57) put the Lions on the board at 8:00, assisted by Khalil Juma and Khalil Amlani. The lead was short-lived—Maynes netted his second of the period just five seconds later, assisted by Callem Burden, to restore the two-goal cushion.
Hemraj then took matters into his own hands, scoring a shorthanded goal at 5:08 with a beautiful setup from Khalil Amlani, cutting the lead to 3-2. The Lions finally drew even when Zamir Datoo, assisted by Khalil Juma, scored at 1:59. Just over a minute later, it looked like the period would end tied, but the Leprechauns’ Liam Maynes completed a stunning hat trick in the frame, scoring with assists from Oliver McEwen and Brady Semeniuk at 0:45. The period ended with the Leprechauns clinging to a 4-3 lead, despite being outshot 24-20 and already seeing a five-goal outburst from their opponent.
The second period saw the Lions’ penalties begin to mount—Amaan Datoo took a slashing minor, and Khalil Juma was sent off for holding—but the Lions’ penalty kill held strong. In fact, it was the Lions who capitalized on the power play. With Leprechauns’ Evan Zaichkowsky and Callem Burden both in the box for high-sticking, the Lions evened the score at 4-4. Atif Bharmal and Ziyaan Valani set up a perfect strike for Khalil Juma at 8:18, and the game was knotted once more. The period’s only goal swung momentum back to the Lions as Ziyaan Valani, with assists from Atif Bharmal and Omar Manji, gave the Lions their first lead of the night at 7:48 of the third period. But the Leprechauns answered in the third period when Caden Stanojevic ripped a shot home at 4:06, with helpers from Brady Semeniuk and Ethan Barich, tying the game 5-5. With the game deadlocked, it was ultimately a penalty shot in overtime that decided the contest. At 2:43 of the fourth period, the Lions’ Aden Hemraj was awarded a free chance, but the Leprechauns’ goalie Ronan Leister was beaten, and Hemraj’s third goal of the game was the decider. The Leprechauns’ goaltender made 17 saves on 24 shots, while the Lions’ Raffiq Manji stopped 17 of 20 to earn the win, a fitting end to a game that saw a hat trick from Liam Maynes and a penalty shot heroics from Hemraj.