Home ice advantage wasn't enough to bring victory to the Dawson City Nuggets, but it did help to bring them the most respectable score they have ever had in their 106-year rivalry with several generations of teams from Ottawa.

While the Senators' Alumni team did have the last word, with a goal scored in the last five and half seconds of the game, the third period was fairly evenly matched as such things go, with the Nuggets scoring three goals against the six by the visitors.

The Senators owned the first period, scoring four unanswered goals before a capacity crowd of 400 anxious fans in the Art and Margaret Fry Arena after Governor General David Johnston dropped the puck.

But the play was not one-sided. Richard Nagano fended off a great many shots on goal for the Nuggets. Gerry Armstrong was simply more effective for the Alumni.

The Second period showed a shift with the Alumni managing only two goals against Daniel Green, while the Nugget's Kevin Anderson repeated his Thursday night performance and put the Nuggets on the score board. It was 6-1 for the visitors at that point.

The Alumni opened the scoring in the third period but then a trip gave Dale Kulych a penalty shot, which he breezed by Armstrong, giving heart to his team. The visitors continued their methodical attack on the Nugget's net, but John Flynn scored a third goal for the home team and then Kulych put in another, bringing the score up to four for the Nuggets.

The crowd and the team were certainly hoping for at least one more, and the Nuggets tried hard, but the last successful run was made by the Alumni, with just seconds left in the game.

That made the final score 12-4 for Ottawa.

John Barrett circled the rink with the coveted Klondike Cup, the players all shook hands, and it was over.

Considering that the scores in 1905 were 9-2 and 23-2, and that the 1997 rematch was a lopsided 18-0, this year's two games ending in 10-1 and 12-4 are an improvement overall, with the Nuggets scoring more goals than they had in the previous 106 years.

Ottawa's Shawn Rivers told the broadcast crew of Nathan Dewell and Steve Lazlo that it had been a great trip and it was too bad it couldn't be an annual event.

Kudos are owed to camera operator Jay Armitage, who did a great job following the play, and to CFYT-FM, which managed to broadcast the game on radio, local cable channel 12 and via streaming video on the Internet.