Hyped in the local press as the "Paul Gait Farewell Tour" Game, the Saturday matinee between the Washington Power and Vancouver Ravens lived up to its billing, as the teams came down the stretch tied again and again before the Power took control, scoring a 17-12 win at General Motors Place.

The Ravens took the lead six minutes into the opening quarter on Craig Stevenson’s bouncer, but Kip Fulks responded for the Power a minute later. Then rookie sensation Peter Morgan cracked in a couple -- first an opportunistic crease shot, then a sizzler from the right shooter spot. Bobby Horsey made it 4-2 Ravens after one. Except for a 5-5 tie midway through the second quarter, the Ravens managed to thwart off a barrage of Power assaults, to retain a 7-5 lead at the half. Dwight Maetche continued his 40-year-old brilliance, most notably on a big glove save on Matt Shearer’s shot with two minutes to the bell. Shearer’s fake had dropped Maetche to the floor, but when Matt tried to go top shelf, Dwight gloved it like a shortstop stretching for a line drive!

Maetche continued his brilliance in the third, stopping Gary Gait’s penalty shot cold! Gary had faked low, then tried to put it over Dwight’s left shoulder, but a quick shoulder-shrug stymied the attempt. Paul’s five-hole shot, and Jeff Wills’ screen shot tied the score at sevens. Matt Dwayne scored on one of his trademark breakaways to lift the Ravens to a short 8-7 lead, but then the surge began. The score would also be tied at eights, nines, elevens, and twelves as the Power surge began to kick in.

Ryan O’Connor’s overhand backhand, going left to right across the key, was a beauty! But then Paul did what Paul does best, as he bulled his way into the middle, and scored while falling, with the weight of two or three defensemen knocking him around. Morgan scored his hat trick goal to give the Ravens a slight 10-9 edge at the end of the third.

Early in the fourth, Brian Reese (about whom Sportsnet’s Don Taylor quips, "He makes a mean peanut-butter cup") may have been in the wrong building. (Note to Brian: the BC Lions play CFL football in BC Place next door to GM Place). Reese literally chased down Kevin Hanson, and tackled him to the ground, apparently in retaliation for some mischief that Hanson bestowed upon him. Ding them each two minutes for roughing, and ding Reese an extra two for "holding." On the ensuing four-on-four, Chris Prat capitalized, but Bobby Horsey and Paul Cantebene would tie the game again at 11-11. That’s when the Power surge began to take ... uh ... charge. Fulks scored his second of the night, shorthanded, shortly before O’Connor finally got the power play goal, but then unanswered goals by Matt Shearer, Horsey, Del Halladay, Gary Gait, and a final garbage goal by Hugh Donovan (while Maetche was racing back to the net after being pulled) finalized the score at 17-12.

Devin Dalep played well in the Washington net, but was not as challenged as Maetche, especially in the fourth. Shots on goal were 63-57 in favor of the Ravens, but the fourth quarter stats tell the story, as the Power outshot the Ravens 18-13, and outscored them, 8-2.

Fittingly, Paul Gait was named Game Star, but shared the honors with his twin brother.

In an interesting postgame ceremony, after Paul had given the shirt off his back, gloves and stick to some lucky fan, four members of the Power, two members of the Ravens, and three other players posed for a team picture. These were some of the players recently selected to represent Canada for the upcoming World Championships, next summer in Australia, including Neil Doddridge (who did not play, and appeared to be limping), Matt Shearer, Paul and Gary Gait from the Power, and Chris Gill and Matt Dwayne from the Ravens. Pat Coyle and Dan Stroup (Rock) and Jeff Gombar (released from the Ravens) also got in the team picture. Game attendance was in excess of 10,000. At least half these fans stayed in the seats for the postgame ceremonies. That is, until Paul Gait was introduced to take his curtain call, when over 4,000 of them gave him a standing ovation!

BOX SUMMARY
                                      1  2  3  4     TOT
Washington Power (4-2)                2  3  4  8  --  17
Vancouver Ravens (3-4)                4  3  3  2  --  12

WASHINGTON POWER              VANCOUVER RAVENS
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
P Gait         2 - 4     6    Morgan         3 - 4     7
Cantebene      1 - 4     5    Prat           2 - 4     6
G Gait         1 - 4     5    Gill           2 - 1     3
Shearer        2 - 2     4    Dwane          1 - 2     3
Halladay       1 - 3     4    Bowen          0 - 3     3
Brothers       0 - 4     4    O'Connor       2 - 0     2
Sims           1 - 2     3    Stevenson      1 - 1     2
Fulks          2 - 0     2    Maetche        0 - 2     2
Horsey         2 - 0     2    Hanson         1 - 0     1
Wills          2 - 0     2    Catton         0 - 1     1
Gallant        1 - 1     2    Williams       0 - 1     1
F Jenner       1 - 1     2    
Reese          1 - 0     1    
Dalep          0 - 1     1    
Donovan        0 - 1     1    

Shots on goal           57    Shots on goal           63
Saves made by           51    Saves made by           40
   Dalep             51          Maetche           40
Penalties                9    Penalties                9
Penalty Minutes         18    Penalty Minutes         18
Power Play Chances       3    Power Play Chances       4
Power Play Goals         3    Power Play Goals         4
   Cantabene          1          Morgan             2
   F Jenner           1          O'Connor           1
   Wills              1          Prat               1
Shorthanded Goals        1    Shorthanded Goals        0
   Fulks              1          (None)
Loose Balls             64    Loose Balls             62
   Cantabene         15          Reisig             8
   Donovan            7          Morgan             7
   Gallant            7          Catton             5
                                 Stewardson         5
                                 Williams           5
Faceoffs Won            21    Faceoffs Won            12
   Cantabene    (13- 7)          Stevenson    (10-16)
   Brothers     ( 8- 5)          Stewardson   ( 2- 4)
                                 Reisig       ( 0- 1)

 *** STATS OFFICIAL BY VERIFY WITH VANCOUVER RAVENS ***