'It felt like it was never gonna end': Cape Breton Eagles extend season in 5th overtime

It was a marathon session for players and spectators in Sydney on Friday night but the Cape Breton Eagles eventually triumphed 3-2 over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar.

It was the second-longest game in Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League history.

Game 5 of their first-round playoff series at Centre 200 started at 7:04 p.m. and ended at 1:22 a.m. when Angelo Fullerton scored 1:42 into the fifth overtime period.

Speaking on Saturday, Fullerton said he was sore and exhausted but it was a special goal in his hockey career.

"It was a long night, but it was a lot of fun, especially getting to do that with all my friends," he said.

Fullerton said he has never been on the ice that long before and the challenge for the team was keeping its energy up throughout.

He said nobody on the team wanted to go home so early in the season. The Eagles began the night trailing the Drakkar 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.

Looking at his teammates during the game and wanting to fight for them kept him going, Fullerton said.

With two disallowed goals for Baie-Comeau and one for the Eagles, Fullerton said there were points when "it felt like it was never gonna end." 

But he said the players kept pushing because they had nothing to lose at that point. 

For diehard Eagles fans like Matthew Briggs, the game was an emotional roller-coaster that seemed to go on for an eternity.

He said he's seen hundreds of hockey games in his life but never one like he saw on Friday.

He said at certain points during the game he had to ask his friends what overtime they were in.

"Are we in the eighth? Are we in the ninth period? We just lost track of time. That's how long the game was," Briggs said.

Briggs thought the game was over a few times in overtime. He left the arena, only to find that goals were disallowed. He stayed until the end after that.

Eagles head coach Louis Robitaille said he is proud of the team.

He said some members of the team were in tears during the game thinking their season was over and that their junior career was over.

But they were able to bounce back, he said, and showed resiliency and pride. 

"That's what will stick with me forever," Robitaille said.

He said the players were even sharper by the end of the game then they were during the second period.

Robitaille credits the fans for being a big part of the success of the team.

"The support has been incredible," he said.

"The players did it for them, did it for the entire island that we're proud to be Cape Bretoners. To see the joy after that game yesterday, it's something unbelievable."

The series shifts to Baie-Comeau for Game 6 on Monday. Game 7, if necessary, would be Tuesday.