Whitehorse Huskies forward Derek Klassen chased down a loose puck into the corner, spun around and backhanded it at the net.

The shot caught Whitecourt Wild goalie Kirk Irving by surprise, trickling through his legs and into the back of the net.

The late third-period goal was significant for the host team Sunday, as it marked the first time the Huskies led in the two-game series and also stood up as the game-winner in a 6-5 thriller at Takhini Arena.

“I just got to the loose puck, and unlike in my college days, I actually tried to make a move through the defenceman,” said Klassen, 29, of his game-winning goal.

“It happened to work out, and then I just chucked it on net and it managed to squeak in.”

Klassen was named the team’s “top dog” after the game and sported a unique husky hat for his post-game interview.

About 400 fans took in the Huskies’ first win of the season. The team is sponsored by Nuway Crushing Ltd.

Irving held the Huskies offence at bay for most of the weekend, but said the blame for Game 2 loss falls squarely on his shoulders.

“I made the error,” the 29-year-old former pro told the Star.

“That was my bad. Just a bad goal that I let in and one of those ones I wish I could have back.

“They battled hard. Both games, they came back in the third period. They beat us hands-down in the third period of both games, and as a team, we have to learn to dig deeper and be able to handle that pressure.”

For the second straight game, the Huskies found themselves in an early hole, trailing 2-0 after the first on goals by Lyndin Lewis and Matt Moffat.

Midway through the second, Ted Stephens got the Huskies on the board, deflecting a Klassen slapshot past Irving on the powerplay.

Klassen and longtime running mate Rob Warner took turns manning the point on the powerplay as the Huskies employed a four-man forward unit.

However, Tyler Stubbs beat Huskies Game 2 starter Brad Gustafson late in the frame to restore the Wild’s two-goal lead.

Early in the third, Ryan Gleason again cut the Huskies’ deficit to one with a goal, but Kyle Kingwell restored the Wild’s two-goal lead less than 20 seconds later.

With half a period to play, Ted Stephens set up his younger brother Burt Stephens with a cross-crease pass to make it 4-3.

At 7:47, Kane Dawe tied the game, slipping a loose puck past a sprawled-out Irving.

A late powerplay goal from Stubbs gave the Wild a 5-4 lead, setting up a thrilling finish.

With 4:20 to play, hulking blue-liner Simon Nugent knotted things up at 5-5 with a wrist shot from the point.

Moments later, it appeared Dawe put the Huskies ahead 6-5, but the referee ruled the pesky winger had directed the puck in with his hand.

Then with 1:45 to play, Klassen struck.

“We never had a lead in the weekend until we had a minute left in the second game,” Klassen said. “It was a little different that way. We ran into a hot goalie.

“(But) it was perfect, really,” said Klassen of the weekend series. “Two one-goal games. At the end of the day, that’s exactly what we needed.”

For the Wild, it marked the first foray into the North for the majority of the team’s roster.

“We had a blast,” said Irving. “We were very honoured to have the Whitehorse Huskies pay for us to come up here. We had two awesome games. ... Very run-and-gun for both sides. I thought there was a lot of offence for both teams.”

The Wild play in Alberta’s North Central Senior Hockey League, sporting a 3-7 record after 10 games.

Huskies head coach Mike Tuton said he was proud of his group.

“We put ourselves in a jam all weekend, but they put their heads down and just battled back,” he said Sunday.

“They stuck with it. We never changed the gameplan once. ... They had a no-die attitude. We didn’t want to lose two in a row.

“We outplayed them for two games, I think. Their goaltender stood on his head. He must have faced 120, 130 shots over the weekend.”

Approximately 800 fans filed through the doors at Takhini Arena to take in the weekend series.

“I don’t think you could have asked for two better hockey games,” the coach said. “I haven’t seen a better series in Whitehorse in ... I don’t even know.”