Shamrock, however, started to find their bearings in the second quarter and began to gradually narrow the gap between the two sides. Though his humble demeanor would not show it , Andrew Martins must have been excited to score the first goal of his career and, with pinpoint scoring accuracy, Shamrock was back in the hunt at the half having narrowed the gap to two points, 1-6 (9) to 1-4 (7).
Some second half positional changes saw AJ Valeras move to the full forward line and Chad Koch again stepping between the posts to be the last line of defense . The stakes began to rise and, with Hanrahan again temporarily sidelined with his hand injury, it took superb work from both Eric and Kevin Hobbins to ensure that the game remained close. Mike Banta impressed for the Griffins, while rookie Zach LaVallee contributed the first point of his career. All in all great effort from both sides saw the gap further reduced to a single point as the whistle blew for the last water break .
More of the same in the final period as both sides desperately sought to separate themselves and break the deadlock. Steve “Jake” Jakubowski and Alfredo “Fredo” Castillo were constantly pressuring the Shamrock defense and Joe “Jaws” Jawson took a hard knock and went down in the Shamrock goalmouth. After medical treatment he returned, bloodied but unbowed, as both sides threw everything they had at each other. Four Shamrock points were countered by an Ale House goal and as time ran out both the teams were back where they started the game.........deadlocked, 1-11 (14) to 2-8 (14), and needing to resolve things in extra time.
Led by some trademark Vinny Maloney points and likely aided by the experience of having already played an overtime game this season, the Griffins tacked on three points in the initial five minutes. As expected, Ale House did not go softly into that good night and pegged one back in the second period, but it was not enough and Shamrock ran out victorious in a thoroughly entertaining game that was a testament to the inner strength of both teams.