The Neponset Valley River Rats' season came to an end Wednesday night in Green Bay with a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss to the #7 Buffalo Jr Sabres. It was the kind of game that could have gone either way - the Rats fought back from a two-goal deficit, tied it on a gutsy play by Brendan Martin, and took it to overtime before Buffalo found the winner. Sometimes that's how it goes at Nationals.
Buffalo came out flying and jumped to a 2-0 lead before the Rats could settle in. It could have been a long night. Instead, the River Rats showed the fight that got them to Nationals in the first place.
#17 Nicholas Tulipano got the Rats on the board at the 3:48 mark of the first period, assisted by #88 Drew Short and #91 Jake Guerriero. The goal cut the deficit to 2-1 and gave Massachusetts life heading into the second.
Then came the play of the game. #5 Brendan Martin - a strong, stay-at-home defenseman all season at St. Sebastian's and one of the steadiest blueliners in the 2010 class - made a heads-up pinch to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Knowing his team needed a goal, Martin abandoned his post at the point and bee-lined it to the net to collect the puck and bury the game-tying goal at 9:57 of the second period. Tulipano and Guerriero picked up the assists. 2-2. The Rats bench erupted.
The game stayed knotted through the rest of the second and all of the third, sending it to overtime. But Buffalo found the winner in the extra frame to end the River Rats' season, 3-2.
The loss stings. But this River Rats team has absolutely nothing to hang their heads about. Take a step back and look at what this group accomplished this season.
They won the Massachusetts Tier 1 State Championship in November. They earned the Regional Championship and a trip to Green Bay. They opened the tournament with a dominant 7-1 win over Sioux Falls with 11 of 17 skaters on the scoresheet. They went toe-to-toe with #1 Honeybaked and traded punches with a roster loaded with NTDP invitees. And tonight they fought back from 2-0 down and took Buffalo to overtime in a must-win game.