ORANGEVILLE TYKE SELECT FLYERS pile on goalie Liam McIllwraith in celebration of their win over Georgetown to win the Tri-County Tyke title on Saturday. McIllwraith was at the top of his game, shutting out the Raiders to help lead the Flyers to a 2-0 win for the championship title. Photo/MIKE MALONEY

They had to go the distance but the Arthurs Fuels Tyke Select Flyers were more than up to the challenge, shutting out Georgetown 2-0 at home on Saturday night to win the tri-County Tke championship title.

After taking a two game to one series lead last Tuesday, the two teams returned to Georgetown Thursday with Orangeville - buoyed with confidence, in position to clinch the series.

After a scoreless opening frame, Orangeville was first to the board 1:10 into the second.

With their backs to the wall, the Raiders kept gaining momentum and were rewarded with three goals in the last five minutes of the second to take a seemingly commanding 3- 1 lead.

Orangeville came out strong in the third and drew back within one while making a line change and took control of the game from that point to eventually tied it up 3-3 with 1:59 left in regulation where the score remained sending the game into overtime.

The Flyers were given a glorious opportunity to end the game in overtime when they went on the power-play with 7:45 left to play.

The power-play worked to a disadvantage as Orangeville seemed to relax a bit and lost the momentum.

The teams battled back and forth, but nothing was settled and it ended in a 3- 3 tie and the best of five series became a six point series with the Flyers leading 5 points to 3.

Robinson led the attack with two points and Justin Stairs, Dakota Zarudny, Buck and Cotton-Petersen added a single point each.

McIllwraith was solid in goal again keeping his team in the game in the early going.

That set the stage for Orangeville to win the series on home ice and they didn't disappoint the large crowd.

The Flyer's aggressive fore-check and relentless back checking made for a frustrating night for Georgetown who had trouble getting out of their own end most of the game.

Orangeville took a 1-0 lead with 2:40 left in the first and added an insurance marker with 2:25 left in the second period. The Flyers stuck to their winning formula and held the Raiders at bay for the third period to capture the championship. McIllwraith notched his 14th shut-out of the year and gave Orangeville the goaltending they needed all year and win the Brampton tournament and the league championship. Zarudny and Cotton- Petersen had two point nights and Robinson topped off his season totals with another point.

The Orangeville Tyke Flyers would like to thank their proud sponsor, Arthurs Fuel, for their sponsorship and support all year.