West Chester, PA- Despite third-period goals from Jack Rathbone and Jay O’Brien, the Cape Cod Whalers fell 5-2 to Selects Academy in the 2018 USA Hockey 18-and-under Tier 1 National Championship Game.

Selects Academy got on the board first and took a 1-0 lead into the locker rooms after the opening frame. Another goal late in the second put the Whalers down by two with only twenty minutes to play.

The Whalers, however, refused to go down without a fight. A power play early in the third saw O’Brien and Aidan McDonough set up Rathbone, and the deficit was cut in half.

Just after the midway point, O’Brien tied the game with assists from McDonough and Rathbone.

Selects Academy seized the lead with 6:33 remaining, and after Matt Lane skated to the bench in favor of an extra attacker, netted a pair of empty-net goals to put the game away.

The loss ended a stellar tournament for the Whalers. Jay O’Brien led the tournament in total scoring with 11 points and was tied with teammate Jack Rathbone and Eastern Mass Senator Michael Outzen with 6 goals. Aidan McDonough finished in a four-way tie for the lead with 7 assists, along with the Senators’ Matt Guerra. Matt Lane won four games and was fourth overall with a .930 save percentage.

The Mass Selects League extends its congratulations to the Cape Cod Whalers for an excellent season.