ANAHEIM – Jacob Besnilian was in the wrong jersey with the wrong number and the wrong name.
Until earlier in the week, organizers had overlooked that the Los Alamitos forward was a senior and should be playing with his grade-level peers instead of in the varsity game.
After the late switch and filling in another player’s slightly smaller jersey, Besnilian was in the right place at the right time.
Besnilian assisted on one of Trevor Arsenault’s two goals and scored the winning goal as the Whalers overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period to beat the Nordiques, 4-3, in the senior game of the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League All-Star Games at Honda Center on Thursday.
“It was an awesome experience,” Besnilian said. “It’s my last year here, so definitely making the most of it. Fun time, really glad I did this.”
Besnilian was named MVP as he and Edison’s Arsenault each put up a game-high two points. Besnilian also won the fastest skater competition in the first intermission edging out JSerra’s Jacob Brunelle in the final heat.
Arsenault and Besnilian got the comeback going early in the third period. Besnilian got a shot on goal and Arsenault crashed the crease to sweep home the rebound to cut the deficit to one, 3-2.
“Right off the faceoff, we got pucks to the net and I got to bury one home,” Arsenault said. “Second one was almost the same thing. Just threw it at the net, and happened to get there and put it in the net.”
Two minutes later, a Servite connection tied the socre, 3-3. Bowen Frabotta wristed in a laser of a shot off an assist from Luc Cross.
Frabotta also had a mini-highlight in the second period caught his stick like a baton after it was hoisted spinning into the air by an opposing stick lift.
Besnilian got the goal that stood up as the game-winner three minutes after Frabotta’s strike.
“I was just in the slot and got a good pass.” Besnilian said. “I had got a similar opportunity from the same exact spot, and I hit him high. I just tried to pick my spot and I got it.”
The Whalers side actually opened the game’s scoring as Arsenault put in his first goal off a rebound just four minutes in.
Brunelle tied the game three minutes later, and Will Chaffee of Long Beach Prep put the Nordiques up 2-1 with 28 seconds remaining in the first period.
Santa Margarita’s Jekabs Bisnieks scored the only goal of the second period on an unassisted wraparound for the two-goal lead.
