There's one referee who's name is mud in Whitehorse, after a tough call that saw a last-minute goal for the Whitehorse Huskies disallowed on Saturday.

The Huskies were down 3-1 with just seconds left in the third game of the Savage Cup. Goalie Corey McEachran was on the bench, cautiously watching coach Randy Merkel's signals incase it was time to sprint back on the ice to tend the goal.

There was a hustle in front of the Powell River Regals' net, and in several mad seconds, the puck was tipped in by a still unknown player – just as referee Stephan Rainville blew the whistle.

The fans were up on their feet cheering for what could have meant the Huskies' chance to push the series to four games, when Rainville suddenly announced no goal.

A chorus of disappointed groans erupted from Takhini Arena, but there was nothing the players or Merkel could do.

The clock ran out, and the Huskies admitted defeat to the Regals for the third time.

The third game of the Savage Cup series was arguably the most exciting, and even Merkel admits he has no idea who scored that fateful goal.

"I didn't even see if he blew the whistle before or what, I was so caught up in it,” Merkel said.

The coach isn't too upset at Rainville for the difficult call.

"This is hockey and it's happening very fast on the ice,” he said.

The referee was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. From his position on the ice, he thought Regals goalie Chad Vizzuti had gloved the puck, when it had actually trickled in under his pads.

The final three minutes of the game Saturday had the crowd on their feet for most of it, as McEachran was pulled for more power up front. The play seemed to work as the puck barely descended past the neutral zone into the Huskies' end. In that period alone, the Huskies earned 15 shots on goal to the Regals' five.

All this wasn't enough. The Huskies are now finished for the season, but the Powell River Regals will move on to the coveted Allan Cup tournament in Fort St. John.

But it wasn't for lack of effort from the Huskies, Merkel said.

Starting from ground zero, the Huskies camp managed to build a team that raised the hairs on the back of the Regals' necks by the end of the season.

"The guys put a hell of a game together,” Merkel said.

One of the standout players was McEachran, who faced an incredible amount of shots including 38 on Thursday night.

"Corey will self-admit that he wasn't that happy with the first two games,” Merkel said, but the coach doesn't see it that way.

"He was absolutely stellar in the third period of that second game,” Merkel said.

And it only got better, as McEachran made save after save in the third game on Saturday.

"That third game was exactly what he was capable of,” Merkel said.

McEachran, who himself has played – and won – an Allan Cup, managed to keep Powell River's scorers to only three goals, while facing 31 shots.

"He is a very high-calibre, good goaltender,” Merkel said.

One of the problems the team had is what saw them lose to the Fort St. John Flyers in March.

"We couldn't stay out of the penalty box,” Merkel said. Because of the numerous two-minute advantages the Regals saw, the Huskies never saw a lead in the scoring.

"We never did get the lead. You're always playing catch-up hockey,” Merkel said.

In the second period of the third game, Mike Basford was in the penalty box for a mere six seconds, serving two minutes for hooking, before the Regals scored a goal.

The announcer hadn't even finished detailing the penalty when the goal was scored.

Another challenge for the Huskies was getting past 10-time Allan Cup goalie Chad Vizzuti.

"He played a very good game. He made the saves when he needed to,” Merkel said. "He's got a lot of experience.”

Merkel said he was hoping his team would get a few more chances, especially in the third game when the score was so close.

"I thought we could have got a couple breaks there in the last game,” he said.

One other concern the Huskies faced was conditioning heading into a potential five-game series, but if the Huskies were tired, it didn't show.

Highlights of the first game include Derek Johnstone's two goals, the first coming in the first period at 16:12, assisted by Kris Mattice and Graham Belak.

Johnstone added an assist as well on Mattice's goal, which was originally thought to be his second of the night. The hat trick was later changed to two goals.

McEachran had a great save at 12:01 into the first period of Thursday's game. The goaltender was faced with a breakaway, as his defence pursued. McEachran flattened the puck and gloved it to stop the attempt.

In the second game played Friday night, the Regals had a rough go, with several injuries and harsh falls that saw the medic on the ice more than once.

With 2:47 left in the first, Powell River's Glendon Cominetti went in for a shot against McEachran, who stopped the puck. Cominetti tripped over McEachran, and in his attempt to recover, stripped his helmet off with his stick, and crashed into the ice.

Cominetti was down for several minutes as he was attended to by the medic. He eventually got up to cheers from the crowd and did not return to the game.

Just before the injury, the Huskies' Rob Wells scored a near empty-netter, as Vizzuti was off to the side recovering from a previous save. The assist was credited to Dave Gourlie and Kristjan Jefkins.

Near the end of the game, the referee had a tough time settling both teams as a fight nearly broke out between two players. Huskies player Clint Teichroeb earned a game misconduct for the scuffle.

In the third game, the Huskies kept the Regals scoreless for most of the first 10 minutes, with the streak broken by a Regals goal from Brandon Cummings at 11:29.

The last five minutes of the first saw the Huskies with several dangerous possessions of the puck, with the game hopping back and forth from either side of the rink. It ended with a Regals goal against McEachran, who had to check the puck had passed him when celebrations erupted from the opponents.

The Huskies got on the board at 14:23, with a long shot from the blue line that dodged the Regal's defence to end Vizzuti's shutout chance. The goal was scored by Jefkins and assisted by Kirk Gale.