BY RYAN O'CONNOR

Regular-season records, even a lopsided regular-season loss, didn’t matter to the underdog Goffstown Grizzlies, whose intense play on Thursday, Oct. 25, nearly produced a stunning upset against Manchester West in the first round of the Class L boys playoffs.

Instead, a Goffstown yellow card led directly to a West goal. The end result was a 3-2 double-overtime victory for the host Blue Knights against the visiting Grizzlies.

“The first time we played we got a little bit lucky on a couple shots our guys cranked in, but I was impressed with (the Grizzlies) back then,” said West head coach Ben Brewster, whose team won that Sept. 4 match, 3-0. “That night, when we left Goffstown, I figured they were going to win 10 or 11 games. They could have easily been 10-6, so I expected them to play well here, and that’s exactly what they gave us.”

Goffstown finished the regular season 7-9, dropping six of those contests by a single goal.

But the visitors held a 2-0 edge early in the second half of this contest, one goal coming on a Josh Lafond tally and the next on a Tyler Ellis redirection. Ian Downing collected assists on both goals.

The Blue Knights, however, swiftly announced they weren’t ready to head home, scoring twice in the next eight minutes.

Following 40 minutes of scoreless action, early in the second OT, the game took a strange turn.

Goffstown midfielder Brad Downing, entangled with a foe, was given a yellow card for holding his opponent’s shirt.

Less than 20 seconds later, West scored and sent the stunned Grizzlies and their large contingent of fans back to Goffstown.

“No question, being up two goals in the second half and not being able to pull it out is tough,” said Grizzlies head coach Randy Lovering. “But you know, … I don’t think they could have played any harder, and I’m extremely proud and very happy with them.”

Lovering stressed the maturation his team exhibited from the third game of the season, when they were shutout by West, to the postseason heartbreaker, and he praised the stellar play of senior keeper Nick Campasano.

But Lovering, who in his first two years has been admittedly spoiled by seniors Campasano, Brad Downing, Aaron Can de Car and Tyler Wageling, said he must regroup and use this year’s experience to take the Grizzlies deeper into the playoffs.