The dream of every sports team, no matter the level, is to be considered a franchise. A team that must be reckoned with. A team that is considered the gold standard of the league. I'm not going to say the Shreveport Mudbugs are there...but they are darn close. No matter the league or circumstances, the Mudbugs for over 20 years have been championship contenders. And this year is no different.

It has been an up and down season for the Bugs. Coming off a Robertson Cup Championship win last year, expectations this year were high. And to be quite honest, through most of the season, the team fell a bit short of those expectations. But, like all great teams and franchises, the playoffs started and the team seemed to come alive.

They took every shot the rival Lone Star Brahmas threw and kept asking for more. It was a hard fought, back and forth series. At times, the Bugs seemed destined to lose. But then they'd "Claw back" and seem unbeatable. To steal a line from the great Gorilla Monsoon, last night ‘The Irresistible Force Met The Immovable Object’ in Game 5 of the first round of the NAHL playoffs.

And, it truly was an epic battle between two hungry rivals. The back and forth game ended just before midnight. Like most of the series, there were times each team seemed unstoppable, that momentum and fate were in their corner. And each time the other time fired back and took control.

The game ended just before Midnight, when Timothy Clifton scored the game winning goal in the 3rd Overtime of the night to put the Bugs on top 3-2. In fact, the game broke the Mudbugs franchise record for longest game in team history - clocking in at 110 minutes and 44 seconds.

As emotional and physical as this series was, the Bugs won't get much time to rest. Their quest to win 'Back to Back' championships will pick back up Thursday night when they travel to Amarillo to challenge the top-seeded Bulls.

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