NIAGARA (Feb. 11) -- This is the game that almost got away.  Almost, but not quite.  Thanks to Noah Matteson's goal at 5:44 of overtime, the Glanbrook Rangers escaped with a 3-2 victory over the Niagara RiverHawks and a 3-1 lead in their Bloomfield Division series.   

The Rangers, coasting along with what seemed to be a comfortable 2-0 lead on goals by Dan Rocco and Noah Bollert through the first two periods of a game that was positively placid by comparison with the three, often unruly, previous encounters in this post-season showdown, suddenly found the tables turned on them. 

"What are they always saying on TV? A two-goal lead in the third period is the worst lead in hockey," said Rangers coach Mike Christian.  "You don't know whether to go or stay, you always seem to be caught in between and before you know it .... " 

And so it went for the Rangers, who, after methodically controlling the play throughout the previous two periods, suddenly went tentative.  Unable to clear their own zone effectively or get pucks deep in the RiverHawks' end, the Rangers found themselves outshot and outworked, and goaltender Mitch Robinson, who faced chances through the early going that were more tricky than dangerous, suddenly faced an elevated threat level. 

The RiverHawks kept the Rangers penned up in their own zone, outshot them 15-5 and, ultimately, scored twice, the first by Giacomo Cotrufo at 3:55 and the tying tally by Alex Pettipiece with just 2:30 minutes to go.  

However, faced with what would have been a demoralizing loss and a deadlocked series, the Rangers responded.  Some determined effort early in the overtime forced the RiverHawks (the most penalized team in the Bloomfield Division during the regular season) to take a hooking penalty, and that was the opening the Rangers needed.

Bollert fed Matteson with a pass near the right faceoff circle and his shot eluded Niagara goalie Mathew Boere for the win and the opportunity to wrap the series up at home in Game 5 (Wednesday, Feb. 12, 7:30 p.m., Glanbrook Arena).  But they're taking nothing for granted. 

"We knew this series would be hard fought and they're giving us nothing free," said Christian.  "We've obviously got some work to do.  We've just got to settle down and do the simple things right.  That's all.  It's a simple game." 

NOTES:  The win was Glanbrook's second straight overtime triumph after a 2-1 victory in double overtime in Game 3 ... Robinson ended up with 32 saves in earning his second win of the series ... Bollert's two-point performance moved him into the Rangers' post-season scoring leadership with three goals and four assists .... The Rangers took only two penalties in the game, but they were close enough together that they were faced with a dangerous two-man disadvantage early in the second period, but they successfully weathered the storm. 

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