Here’s how I imagine how most conversations went for Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley goalie Cole McLaren went on Monday:

“Hey, Cole. How was the game?”

“It was rough. But I made 86 saves.”

“Wow, man. That’s amazing! But why was it rough?”

“Well you see, despite my awesome play, my team managed to screw up and lose in four overtimes.”

Yep. This 17-year-old made 86 saves in a playoff game that went to quadruple overtime Sunday. But despite his best efforts, McLaren and Annapolis Valley lost game four of a best-of-seven series.

If the game would’ve ended in regulation, McLaren would’ve had 37 saves on the night. Not extraordinary, but a good game nonetheless. However, the four overtimes really tested McLaren’s skill, as he made 49 saves in the four overtime periods alone.

And while McLaren was having the game of his life, the two teams battled it out until it ended at about 12:20 a.m. Monday (the game started at 7 p.m. Sunday).

The worst part for McLaren definitely had to be getting up for school hours after this performance:

“I was sore and when I woke up I just hurt everywhere,” said McLaren, an eighth round draft choice last year of the Halifax Mooseheads. “It was a struggle to get out of bed for sure.”

Well, at least McLaren is young and can recover quickly. However, his team fell behind in the series 3-1 thanks to Sunday’s marathon of a game. It appears McLaren will need to have games like this on a nightly basis to keep his team alive.

[CBC]

About Ryan Williamson

Ryan is a recent graduate of the University of Missouri and has recently returned to his Minnesota roots. He previously has worked for the Columbia Missourian, KFAN radio in Minneapolis and BringMeTheNews.com. Feel free to email me at rwilliamson29 AT Gmail dot com.