A tightly-played, low-scoring broomball final was blown wide open Sunday with under four minutes left to play.

With the championship game of the Bob Park Icebreaker Broomball Tournament winding down, and both goalies making their case for tournament MVP, it looked like Drew Wintemute's late 1-0 goal for Roadhouse Pub would stand up as the winner.

But then Justin Saunders went to work. Before another minute had passed, the local broomball sniper had tied the game on a bad-angle shot.

Moments later, he set up Nacho Nyak Dun DC teammate Matt Dickson for the game-winner.

One couldn't have asked for a more exciting start to the 30th year of the Yukon Broomball Association.

"You try a little harder when you're down,” Saunders told the Star moments after his team's 2-1 victory. "But the shots just went in the net, where as earlier they weren't. That's pretty much the difference.”

While Saunders provided the offence, his father Chris provided the defence for Nacho Nyak Dun DC. He played every single minute for his team in the opening tournament.

Charles McLeod put on a show between the pipes as well. The Nacho Nyak Dun DC goalkeeper strung together a series of highlight-reel saves before Wintemute's shot made it through a screen and into the back of the net.

"I just got lucky here,” McLeod said humbly. "Roadhouse has been one of the top teams in the Yukon for a long time and it was sensational to actually get a win over them in a championship game, because it's one of the hardest things to do.”

Roadhouse Pub was widely perceived as the favourite coming into the final game, after shutting out Nacho Nyak Dun DC in their round-robin game 5-0. Aeden Greer netted a hat trick in that game.

After a long summer layoff, it took a few games for the eventual champs to get their feet back under them.

Nacho Nyak Dun DC actually entered the playoffs as the lowest-ranked team, said Saunders.

"We were in last place in our pool,” he said. "It's always tough at the start because the first few games it's really slow and everything hurts a lot more. But it always feels a lot more natural by late Saturday and Sunday.”

Roadhouse Pub captain Drew Wintemute said the opening tournament honouring the late Bob Park is a special one.

Park was a big supporter of broomball and won the league scoring title five times before his death in 2006.

"It means a lot,” Wintemute said. "Bobby was probably the best player that probably ever played the game in Whitehorse. He was a great guy.”

Six other teams also participated in the opening tournament, including Capital Towing, The Ridge Pub, P&M Recycling, Ford Mustangs, Yukon Thunder and the Spectrum Security Bears.

Mayor Dan Curtis and MLA Scott Kent dropped the ball to open the tournament Friday night, and an alumni game was played Saturday, featuring the likes of former Liberal MP Larry Bagnell and other former broomball greats.

All in all, the tournament served as an appropriate kick-off to the sport's 30th year in the territory, said local broomball board president Milford Allain.

"The Roadhouse and Nacho duke it out a lot and their games are always like that,” Allain said. "You can't ask for a better final, when it's that close.

"I think it was shocking to the people, how big an event it was this year. You could tell it was 30 years. There were oldtimers kicking around, mingling with the new players ... It was really unique.”