High School Hockey: BHBS earns weekend split in Saranac Lake Tourney

In the Saranac Lake Memorial Tournament, the BHBS hockey team was able to earn their second-straight second place finish over the weekend.

The Spartans had a lot of young kids making their high school debuts, so some people weren’t really sure what to expect. Most of them, however, did not look like they were making their debuts, instead looking like they had played for years.

BHBS first squared off with Saranac Lake High School on Friday night. Saranac was able to get on the board first late in the first period when Spartans defenseman Nick Koszelak had a pass blocked that turned into a breakaway, and Red Storm forward Brett Dousel finished it off. The game was pretty evenly played for a while, but Saranac was able to strike again in the second period after Dousel found Casey Sturgeon alone in the slot, and Sturgeon buried the wrister home.

Heading into the third period, BHBS came out with a fire, and dominated the first 5 minutes of the period. Koszelak got the Spartans on the board after wristing the puck past Saranac goalie Bruce Freeman. They continued to pressure, and Alec Lind pulled up just inside the blue line and buried a slapshot past Freeman, less than a minute after the Koszelak goal. After that, the period was pretty evenly played, with good opportunities for both teams. Casey Sturgeon gave Saranac the lead with 1:37 left when he threw a puck on net and it deflected off several bodies and past goalie Trevin Tidmarsh. BHBS quickly pulled the goalie, but Freeman made several good saves in the final minute to keep his team in the lead. Saranac won 3-2.

After a tough loss, they came into Saturday with some motivation, trying to avoid an 0-2-0 start, even if they are non-league games. In a game with Lake Placid, they didn’t look good in the first period. Placid led in shots 15-8, and got a goal when forward Bjorn Kroes threw a puck on net that deflected off a BHBS defender and past Tidmarsh. The second period was better, with the shots being 13-11 in favor of BHBS, but it wasn’t terrific. The Spartans had several great scoring opportunities, but couldn’t finish any of them. Placid goalie Kamm Cassidy made several great saves as well.

In the third period, the Spartans continued the trend of coming out strong. They first got on the scoreboard when junior defenseman Sam Swingruber skated the puck up and dangled the goalie, but the goal was waved off due to goalie intereference. It was actually technically impossible to wave off, because the refs never signaled a goalie interference until after the goal was scored and until right before the puck was dropped. The refs weren’t great the entire weekend, and that was probably the worst call. The Spartans wouldn’t be deterred, however, and Alec Lind found Gianni Pleminik on the doorstep, and he finished it off to make it 2-1 with 10 minutes to go. BHBS continued their push, and freshman Connor Cecala finished off a puck to tie the game 2-2 with 6 minutes remaining. It was his first career goal, and point, in his second game. With 3 minutes left, Nick Koszelak shot a puck that Lind redirected home beautifully past Cassidy to give BHBS a 3-2 lead. They would keep their pressure on, and Placid never even had the opportunity to pull the goalie. BHBS won 3-2.

It was a great weekend for senior forward Alec Lind, who had 2 goals and 2 assists, senior defenseman Nick Koszelak, with a goal and an assist, senior forward Geordan Buffoline, with 3 assists, and junior goalie Trevin Tidmarsh, who stopped 57 of 62 shots for a .919 save percentage and a 2.50 GAA.

GOALS (VS SARANAC)

1ST PERIOD

SL (2:34)- Brett Dousel (1) ASST: None

2ND PERIOD

SL (3:13)- Casey Sturgeon (1) ASST: Brett Dousel (1), JB Chopin (1)

3RD PERIOD

BHBS (11:41)- Nick Koszelak (1) ASST: Geordan Buffoline (1), Gianni Pleminik (1)

BHBS (10:50)- Alec Lind (1) ASST: Geordan Buffoline (2)

SL (1:37)- Casey Sturgeon (2) ASST: Austin Reyeti (1),Brett Dawson (2)

SAVES:

SL- Bruce Freeman 27

BHBS- Trevin Tidmarsh 26

GOALS (VS PLACID)

1ST PERIOD

LP (7:52)- Bjorn Kroes (1) ASST: Tyler Hinkley (1)

2ND PERIOD

LP (2:18)- Sean Moore (1) ASST: Bjorn Kroes (1)

3RD PERIOD

BHBS (10:09)- Gianni Pleminik (1) ASST: Alec Lind (1)

BHBS (6:02)- Connor Cecala (1) ASST: Alec Lind (2)

BHBS (3:14)- Alec Lind (2) ASST: Nick Koszelak (1), Geordan Buffoline (3)

SAVES

LP- Kamm Cassidy 33

BHBS- Trevin Tidmarsh 31

-Dylan McGlynn(@DMCGSidelines)