The St Benedict CSS Bears claimed the Holiday Classic Division 2B banner earlier this month in Toronto - but not before almost giving it away.

The Bears reached the finals, grabbing a 3-0 lead over the Chaminade College School Gryphons from North York, only to see the home side rally to force overtime.

Thankfully, it would take just eight seconds and a fumbled puck in front of the Gryphons netminder for Zach Pelletier to settle matters, lifting St Benedict to a 4-3 win.

Goals from Mauro Cusinato, Lukas Coufal and Dawson Kolodinski had given the Bears what seemed like a very comfortable lead, before the Gryphons came storming back.

St Benedict advanced to the championship encounter thanks to a 5-1 semi-final victory over the Earl Haig Secondary School Carp, also from North York, as five different players managed to bulge the twine for head coach Alex Cimino and company.

Joining Pelletier and Coufal on the scoresheet were Domenico Malafarina, Dominic D'Angelo and Reid Bombadieri as the Bears now enjoy the Christmas break with all of their SDSSAA counterparts,with high-school sports in Sudbury resuming on January 5th.