If there is one unifying theme of the 2009-10 ice hockey season for Ridge High School, it would have to be the team's ability to keep fighting when faced with a challenge.

Ridge lost 14 seniors from last year's team that reached the state finals, suffered multiple injuries throughout the season and faced a tough schedule all year, but refused to break.

"This whole season was a comeback," Ridge senior and team captain Eric Menard said.

And in the Public A state playoff game against Brick Memorial Thursday night, the Red Devils were in need of yet another comeback going into the third period down 2-0.

Anthony LoBianco scored Brick's first goal with 3:42 to go in the first period, putting a rebound past Ridge goalie Alec Wells. Tyler Person took an assist from his brother Adam (his second on the night) to bang home Brick's second goal midway through the second to extend the Mustangs lead.

Ridge senior forward Eric Von der Linde was not about to let his team go quietly, turning the momentum by putting in a rebound to cut the lead in half with 12:58 to go in the third.

Less than five minutes later, Menard intercepted a pass in his own zone and carried it across the opponent's blue line before laying off a pass to Von der Linde who blasted in his second goal of the night off a hard slap shot.

Ridge controlled the third period, getting several opportunities to score, but they were unable to slip the go-ahead goal behind Brick's goalie, who had a phenomenal night.

A tense overtime period proved scoreless, with both teams getting opportunties – a shot clanked off the crossbar for Brick and Ridge senior Jake Hotz had a breakaway shot turned aside with under two minutes to go. The game went to a shootout to determine who would advance to the next round of the playoffs.

Von der Linde was turned aside on his shootout attempt, and the first Brick skater to attempt a shot put in a goal to give the Mustangs the early advantage. Wells then proceeded to shut down the next four Brick shooters, and Hotz extended the shootout session with a goal in his attempt.

Ridge struggled to get another goal past Brick's goaltender, while Wells stopped shot after shot on his end – stonewalling the first seven of eight shooters before Brick's Nick Spinelli broke through and gave his team the win, ending the Red Devils' season.

When asked about their junior goalie's performance Ridge senior captain Sam Sisto said one word, "unbelievable." "He's the MVP of the team," Menard said. "That shootout could have been over so many times."

"It's tough we had to go out," Sisto said. "But if we're going to go out any way, that's the way I want to go … in a shootout." Illustrating how many injuries the team had to overcome, the Thursday game was only the second time all season that the two Ridge captains, Sisto and Menard, played together on the ice.

"I'm not mad the we lost, I'm just sad that's it's over," Menard said after the game.

The game was the last for the eight seniors on this year's squad: Menard, Sisto, Von der Linde, Hotz, Joe Madden, Evan Hughes, Erik Holck, Zach Fischl and Matt Burnett.