Marlborough, MA- Jack Rathbone scored twice and James O’Brien picked up two assists to lead the Cape Cod Whalers to a 4-3 win over the Little Bruins in the 2017 Massachusetts State 18U Tier-I Championship game. The victory gives the Whalers the Massachusetts regional entry into the 2018 USA Hockey National Tournament.

Jack Studley drew first blood for the Little Bruins when he knocked in Kyle Kazeroid’s shot from the point just 2:21 after the opening puck drop.

Andrew Moynihan made it 2-0 after he took a pass from Liam Devlin and blasted it through traffic from the point midway through the period.

A power play paved the way for Rathbone’s first when he scored from John Murphy with 2:47 on the clock.

Barely a minute later, Ryan Stevens tied the game with assists from Gerald Harding and Tristan Amonte.

The Bruins ended the first period with a  3-2 lead thanks to Gunnar Fontaine’s goal from Devlin and Devin Tongue with 47 seconds on the clock.

“The Bruins brought it to us in the first period,” noted Whalers defenseman Jayson Dobay, “but once we got into the locker room, we regrouped a bit and knew what we had to do to get the job done.”

The second period turned the game into a tight defensive battle. Rathbone tied the game 2:33 into the frame with help from Dobay and O’Brien, but otherwise, goaltenders Matt Lane and Aidan Porter kept the teams off the board.

“The Bruins only had twelve skaters, but they were a great team and played every shift hard,” stated Whalers defenseman John Murray.

“We knew from our last game that they could score, said Whalers forward Aidan McDonough, “so we concentrated on doing all the ‘little things’ that could help us win every battle.”

McDonough proved to be the hero, as he tallied the eventual game-winner with 10:20 to play in regulation when he banged home O’Brien’s rebound.

Porter skated to the bench for an extra skater with 1:35 to go, but despite tremendous pressure from the Bruins, they could not net the equalizer. A late icing call forced Porter back in net with 46 seconds remaining and when the final buzzer rang, the Whalers had punched their tickets to nationals.

“We played in a lot of big games this year, in a lot of big tournaments, but definitely it’s an awesome feeling,” commented Dobay.

The Massachusetts Selects Hockey League congratulates the Cape Cod Whalers and Little Bruins on their excellent seasons and wishes the players the best of luck in the prep school season.