1st Period
A classic “nobody blink” opening frame: no goals, one penalty, and a lot of stick taps that sounded like a carpenter convention. Zachary Dayno took an early tripping call and the Gamblers uncorked 6 of their 11 first-period shots on the power play. The best near-miss belonged to Nathan DeLuca, who rang iron at 7:27 — the post is still filing a restraining order.
End of 1: Gamblers 0, Lumberjacks 0 • Shots: Gamblers 11, Lumberjacks 6
2nd Period
The dam broke at 12:56 when a rough D-to-D pass by Nico Brands got vacuumed up by Mason Ballard, who took two strides to the slot and beat Luke McCormick high glove side for 1–0. McCormick then launched into “fine, I’ll do it myself” mode — including a big left pad stop on Rivellini and an absurd backdoor save at 7:24 to keep this from becoming an immediate documentary.
At 6:42 the Gamblers made it 2–0: Rivellini curled behind the net and found Sean Collins, whose quick snap/pass hit Marrazzo alone in the slot for a tip-in that legally qualifies as “5-hole content.”
At 3:09 it became 3–0 on a shot through traffic that glanced off Will Meyer’s right foot and in. The Lumberjacks asked for “no goal” (kicked in). Video review asked for “please be serious.”
The Lumberjacks answered at 2:25 to make it 3–1: Dillan Pierce fired a hard pass from the far boards and Dayno redirected it home. But the Gamblers struck back at 0:40: Ballard picked off a clearing attempt, moved it to Luke Deary in the high slot, and after the save, Webster buried the rebound for 4–1.
End of 2: Gamblers 4, Lumberjacks 1 • Shots: Gamblers 30, Lumberjacks 16
3rd Period
At 9:54, Ray Nolan’s laser pass up the middle found Rivellini, who set up Will Meyer on a 2-on-1 for 5–1. The Lumberjacks got a highlight at 9:25 when Jordy McGee went 1-on-2, walked through Collins, and finished past Tucker Garrity-Hanchett for 5–2. The other defender on the play was Zach “The Tinder Swindler” Aher, who was, per scouting report, “present in spirit.”
Then the Gamblers iced it — and then iced it again — and then iced it like a bakery with a sponsorship deal. Deary fed Webster for a deflection at 6:47 (6–2), and at 5:17 Aaron Damren went end-to-end, turned a defender inside-out, and found Rivellini alone for the final dagger: 7–2. McCormick still made several big stops late, including denials on Ryan LaCroix slicing through the crease and a tipped point shot from Collins.
Final: Gamblers 7, Lumberjacks 2 • Shots: Gamblers 41, Lumberjacks 23
