Long into the night they went, the CBA/J-D and Skaneateles ice hockey teams taking more than five periods to settle Tuesday night’s epochal Section III Division II semifinal at Allyn Arena.
Only when Ryan Durkin scored early in the third OT did the thing get settled – and the top-seeded Lakers were out, beaten by the Brothers 4-3 as Skaneateles remains without a sectional title since 2008.
Durkin took a short pass from Braeden Doust, got ahead of three Laker defenders, and slid a low shot home at the 2:38 mark of that third extra period.
“When Ryan got that breakaway I felt he was going to score,” CBD/JD coach Mike McKie said. “All you have to do is give Ryan a little bit of edge and he can get through and make it happen. Ryan’s a clutch player. He’ll win you hockey games.”
The no. 5 seeded Brothers 13-8-1 earned their second successive road playoff win. CBA/JD topped fourth seeded Auburn 3-2 in last Friday’s opening round.
Having not played in 13 days, the Lakers gave up the first goal, but quickly pulled back even. Doust struck shorthanded at the 5:56 mark of the first period, but Skaneateles wing Tom Bronk responded on the same power play 21 seconds later.
The Brothers looked headed toward an easy win after two periods. CBA/J-D dominated the middle stanza as Sam Mueller’s power play wrist shot gave the visitors the lead at the 10:47 mark. Ryan McKee’s rebound goal with just 23 seconds left in the period raised the margin to 3-1.
Skaneateles senior wing Jake Cooney all but willed the Lakers back into the game by himself in the third period. First he took a Tyler Strods pass, and flipped a shot through CBA/J-D goalie Tim Decker with 10:52 left. Cooney then threaded an inch-perfect pass to Connor Hill, who easily directed the puck home with 6:14 to play in regulation.
Cooney had the best chance in the first overtime, but shot wide from close range. The Brothers generated the better scoring chances the rest of overtime, outshooting the Lakers, 10-7.
Decker was especially sharp in the first and third periods, stopping 26 of the 39 shots he faced. Skaneateles goalie Ethan Kupp made 23 saves.
That the Brothers are playing in Saturday’s Section III title game at Utica Memorial Auditorium against Oswego (who won its own double-OT game over New Hartford 5-4 in the semifinals) has to be considered a surprise considering the way CBA/J-D got out of the gate. At one point the Brothers were 1-6 overall, and 1-4 in league play.
“We’ve been playing so well the second half of the season I just knew we were going to be a tough out,” McKie said. “The team believes in itself. The way we started out our season and how we turned it around…we just became a team.”
The loss put a damper on the Lakers’ excellent season. Skaneateles finished 14-2-5, and won the Division II regular season title. Two of those wins were 3-1 triumphs over CBA/J-D, though a third win would prove elusive.
“It’s tough to beat any team three times in one season,” Lakers coach Mitch Major said. “I thought CBA played a great game. I wish them all the best.”
