High School Sports

BHBS, CBA can’t find winner, settle for tie

COLONIE — It was a game of resilience for both teams, but neither Burnt Hills/Ballston Spa nor CBA came out with a win on Saturday night at the Albany County Hockey Facility, finishing with a 3-3 tie.

In the early minutes of the second period and already holding a 1-0 lead, BHBS made it a two-goal game off the stick of Kevin Cullen at 6:55 elapsed time that made it 2-0 and all things going in their favor. The first goal for BHBS had been scored by Jared DiFiore just under nine minutes into the contest.

After this, CBA was not to be outdone as they immediately answered at 7:12 elapsed as Andrew Mesick got one past goaltender Kyle Grace to make it 2-1, and then Collin Mesick scored to tie the game at two apiece. Both of those goals came in a span of just 55 seconds. At the end of the second period, it was tied at two.

In the third period, CBA took the lead for the first time in the game on a score by Dale Hammond 6:45 into the final frame of regulation and that was followed by a BHBS score off the stick of Sam Swingruber, who was playing hurt from a play earlier in the game, to tie it up at three just 18 seconds later to tie the game at three.

“He can do that. He’s a good player,” BHBS head coach Jim Buffoline said.

In the final minutes of regulation, CBA pressured Grace, but it was to no avail as he stopped all of the shots in the final three minutes. He finished regulation with 32 saves on 35 CBA shots.

As the game headed into overtime, both offenses went into a standstill until about two minutes left, when Swingruber got down close to the goal but he was stopped by a CBA defender to keep the game tied.

After that, neither side was able to get anything going that let them be close to scoring, and the clock ran to zeros to end the game in the draw, Section 2 hockey’s first of the season.

“I thought our kids played well after not playing last night, we had a lot of energy today. I thought it was a pretty even game, both teams played well. CBA’s a good high school hockey team so we’re pretty happy with the result,” Buffoline said.

CBA is now 3-1-1 in league play and 4-2-1 overall. They will play again on Saturday, December 23, as they face Saranac/Peru at home at the Albany County Hockey Facility. Game time is set for 6 p.m.

BHBS is now 1-1-1 in the league and 2-2-1 overall. They will be back in action on the road on Friday, December 22, taking on Guilderland/Mohonasen/Scotia-Glenville. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.

STATS:

BHBS:
Jared DiFiore, 1 goal
Kevin Cullen, 1 goal
Sam Swingruber, 1 goal
Owen Grabb, 1 assist
Tommy Anderson, 1 assist

CBA:
Andrew Mesick, 1 goal
Collin Mesick, 1 goal
Dale Hammond, 1 goal
Hunter Pemrick, 1 assist
Mike DeNisco, 1 assist
Ryan Dollar, 1 assist

GOALTENDING:
BHBS (Kyle Grace): 35/38, 92% saved
CBA (Brandon Mohrhoff): 28/31, 90% saved

Aidan Joly

Aidan Joly is Senior Managing Editor of The Upstate Courier. In the past, he has been a beat reporter covering Section II Athletics, Siena College men's basketball, the Tri-City ValleyCats, and the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. In Aidan's current role, he oversees game coverage and content. Aidan is a native of Saratoga Springs and a graduate of Saratoga Springs High School.

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