It may be a Canadian game, and it was being played in Japan, but when all was said and done, it was the Swedish connection that came through at crunch time.
Taro Nihei scored off a nice feed from linemate Shin Yahata 9:46 into sudden-death overtime Tuesday night as Kokudo came back from a two-goal deficit to score a 3-2 win over Seibu in the deciding Game 5 of the Japan Ice Hockey League championship series.
Nihei's winner came with Seibu's Ryan Fujita in the penalty box serving two minutes for charging. Yahata passed the puck out from behind the Seibu net and Nihei popped a quick shot high over sprawling goalie Naoya Kikuchi, resulting in a sea of yellow streamers flying out of the packed stands at Higashi-Fushimi Ice Arena.