They say sometimes in life it's the journey that makes an accomplishment extra special and this season was indeed one of those experiences. The Rats would start out the season dropping two out of it's first three games. Things would only get worse and the team would hit an all time low. Losing not only their fourth game but also captain CJ Winowski who suffered a season ending lower body injury. With many holes in the line up team management would orchestrate moves that would re invigorate the team. Bringing back two Rat alums in veteran Jonny Baron and league standout Geoff Lind. Their impact would be felt immediately. Jonny would turn back the clock and lead the team in scoring while Geoff provided his usual offensive flair. Their play combined with a new team first mentality would spark the team. The Rats would wind up getting their record back near .500 at (3-4-1) and finish in 3rd place. They would upset their rival Shermanator in the semi finals by a score of 7-3. And follow that up with a 4-3 win over the Young Bloods in Game 1. The River Rats now found themselves 46 minutes from their first title in two years. The question was simple would the Rats faulter or could they overcome adversity one more time and complete their journey?

Once the puck dropped in Game 2 it was obviously both teams wanted to feel each other out. You could see everyone was cautious not wanting to make the mistake that would cost his team. The early part of the first half saw most of the action occurring in the neutral zone. And when play got deep, the puck was quickly knocked out or covered by the goaltenders. The game would finally turn with about 10 minutes left in the half, and it would be the Rats who struck first. Paul Beyer would open the scoring picking up the rebound on a Ross MacKay shot. Next Edwin Baron would capitalize on a beautiful passing play created by Chris Danish & Geoff Lind to close out the first half. In the second the Rats continued to dominate the score sheet. Edwin would score his second of the game on a drop pass from Justin Winowski and Geoff Lind would add two of his own including a howitzer off the post past a bewildered Jay Harpootlian. With the scoring in check the Rats would focus their attention on their defense. River Rats net minder Jason Winowski's marquis performance combined with an aggressive fore check and relentless back check would completely shut down the Young Bloods. They would remain off the score sheet until the closing minutes of the game. With the Rats wanting to celebrate too early the Young Bloods would score a trio of goals but eventually time would wind down. The buzzer would sound and the River Rats would be champions once again. Their journey would finally be complete. Cong-Rats For Life!

Scoring Summary: Geoff Lind (2-1-3) Edwin Baron (2-0-2) Paul Beyer (1-1-2) Ross MacKay (0-2-2) Justin Winowski (0-1-1) Chris Danish (0-1-1)