It took extra time and three rounds of a shoutout to determine who would earn the win in the NARBs' first ever FIAHL game. With shootout goals from Monticchio, R. Pellegrino, and A. Albrecht, and a solid pad save from Leivonen, AM Lumber earned their hard-fought second point.

In the game's first shift, the NARBs found themselves down a goal. A solid shot and a rebound opportunity by Whack-A-Mole's Derby put them up 1-0. Another good play by W-A-M's Jensen 10 minutes later put the NARBs down by a pair.

The NARBs knew they needed to change their play for the second period. That's when forward Brian Hornak stepped up, and delivered a speech that simply can't be replicated here, for it would be an injustice. Riled up, the NARBs really came to start the second period. Austin Albrecht scored a little over three minutes in to cut the W-A-M lead in half. Just before the 5 minute mark, Nick D'Aniello accidentally scored when he mistakenly fired a shot that beat W-A-M goalie Pedersen glove side high. To alleviate the shock filling the room after such a play, D'Aniello made sure to fall down, and take about 10 seconds to get up before he made his way back to his still warm seat on the bench.

The NARBs played a long, hard third period. The first goal scored was one for the highlight reel. Going back to play the puck after a dump in, R. Pellegrino made a D-to-D pass to Bacigalupo, who promptly set up Whack-A-Mole's Weigold with a turnover in the high slot. "I came around the net, picked my head up, saw tape, and knew that's where I had to pass the puck", Bacigalupo stated in a post game interview. "I mean I know I'm not supposed to pass to the other team, but he was wide open, and there was no way he wasn't gonna score from there. It was like we read each other's minds, and I'm just happy to pick up the assist. It was unbelievable." Despite allowing a W-A-M goal early on, the NARBs were able to claw their way back when A. Albrecht netted yet another goal to tie the game. No further scoring happened during regulation play or in overtime, though forward Pat Pellegrino was able to record two halfway decent shots on goal in the third period, and we were all pretty proud of him for that.

Leivonen was stellar in overtime, and rock solid in the shootout. Stopping 33% of the shots coming his way, the NARBs only had to score all three times to guarantee their first ever organization win.

Game #2 of the season is tonight at 8:45pm, vs the Chachis at Flemington Ice Arena. Tickets are still available.