La Salle, Shaker/Colonie end in draw
COLONIE — On a late goal, the Shaker/Colonie Jets avoided a loss but still did not get a win, ending with a tie against La Salle on Saturday night at the Albany County Hockey Facility, with a final score of 3-3.
La Salle trailed 1-0 after the first period but came out swinging in the second as they scored three times in a short span of just under six minutes to jump out to a 3-1 lead and had control of the game. The first and second goals both came from Ryan Murray as he scored at 4:47 elapsed time and then did so again 7:05 into the second frame. The third goal came off the stick of Taylor Nitz at 10:22. The goal gave La Salle a commanding two-goal lead.
“High school kids, they get a couple bounces, the puck goes in, they’re flying high and it keeps rolling. It’s a little bit of momentum, it’s a little bit of just some good bounces,” La Salle head coach Tim Flanigan said of his team’s offensive outburst in the second period.
However, Shaker/Colonie did not bow out there, scoring 10 seconds into a power-play courtesy of Joe Molloy to trim their deficit by one goal, 3-2. Molloy had two goals on the night.
The score stayed that way until late in the game, until Andrew Vosburgh played hero for the Jets, scoring on a rebound with just over two minutes remaining in regulation that tied the game at three and eventually sent it into overtime.
Shaker/Colonie began the overtime period on the power-play after a La Salle penalty in the final seconds of regulation but nothing came out of it. With just over two minutes left in the overtime period, Shaker/Colonie was called for a penalty of their own after having too many men on the ice, giving La Salle a great opportunity to potentially score the game-winning goal. They took shots at Shaker/Colonie goaltender Dan Molloy but never got one past him, not being able to come as the visitors and steal a win.
“Definitely one I think we let slip away. Their first line had a good night, I thought we did a good job penalty-killing against them, they did score the one goal. But the league’s going to be tight this year,” Flanigan said.
Shaker/Colonie had scored first on Saturday, Molloy’s first goal just over 11 minutes into the game. It was the only time the Jets led on the night.
La Salle is now 1-1-1 in the league, and 2-2-1 overall. They will be back in action on Tuesday, December 19, taking on the Adirondack Rivermen at the Glens Falls Recreation Center. Start time for that game is set for 7:40 p.m.
Shaker/Colonie is now 1-2-1 in the league and 1-4-1 for the season. They play again on Friday, December 22, facing Niskayuna/Schenectady in a game taking place at Union College. Puck drop will be at 6:30 p.m.