Bishop Guertin's Aidan Kelley (9) and Brian Jenkins (11) chase the rolling puck against Arlington Catholic's Tyler Beals (8) and Mike Flynn (10) during Monday's 3-3 tie at Skate 3 in Tyngsborough, Mass. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

TYNGSBOROUGH, Mass. – It’s mid-January, and by this time Bishop Guertin boys hockey coach Gary Bishop usually has an idea of what his team can do.

Not this year.

He does know they can rally from three-goal deficits, as the Cards found themselves down 3-0 in the second period Monday to Arlington (Mass.) Catholic and managed to salvage a 3-3 overtime tie n front of an engaged crowd at Skate 3.

“We’re behind right now in where we’re usually at,” said Bishop, whose team missed out on the cancelled Mount St. Charlies Holiday Tournament last month, putting them off their schedule. “We’re a bunch of grinders, we have a bunch of guys who can handle the puck pretty well, but we don’t make those two or three pass plays.

“But you’ve got 14 new players, that weren’t on this team last year. Those three games they missed at the Mount were huge for our development. Right now, we know who our first line is. We don’t know who our two, three, four are.

“I thought a couple stepped up physically today, which they hadn’t done in the past, so we’re getting closer to knowing who the top three are. But we still don’t know.”

And this is a week where the Cards more or less need to know, as they face defending champ Concord on the road Wednesday night and then another tourney rival, Bedford, on Saturday. Those two teams knocked off BG in the last two Division I semifinals.

Deuces are wild for the Cards right now, as they’re 2-2-2. Not only did they fall behind 3-0 in the second after a scoreless second period, but Arlington Catholic certainly felt it had won the game nearly three minutes into the eight minute sudden death overtime, when AC’s Myles Galluzzo zipped down left wing and appeared to beat BG netminder John Casey with a shot tucked under the top right corner of the net. But it quickly caromed out and the officials ruled it hit all iron and no goal.

“From our perspective, we thought it went in,” AC coach Dan Shine said. “I think everybody did except the two guys in stripes.”

It was a fabulous, clean game. AC got second period goals by Ryan Noonan, Mike Flynn and Galluzzo. The Cards, though, answered 25 seconds after the third goal with their own score by Austin Abbott, assisted by Brian Jenkins, to close the game to 3-1 at 10:40 of the second, and that’s how things stood after the first 30 minutes.

Then they came out skating hard in the third, as Jenkins wasted no time, just 39 seconds in, off a flurry in front of AC goalie Luke Ramsay (22 saves) to make it 3-2. Ryan Kelley assisted.

Zach Greer got the equalizer, assisted by Cosmo Siano, at 6:56 of the third, off another Guertin scramble in front of Ramsay. Clearly the Cards were fired up.

“I think we got a little bit sloppy, careless with the puck,” Shine said, his team now 4-1-2. “Give (BG) a little bit of credit. They battled, played hard. We always come up here and they come to our place and they’re great games.”

Guertin could have won it late in regulation, as Logan Vogel broke in alone win the final minute but fired high. And in OT, John Mantone slid one just across the crease. A few others were close, too – in fact, BG had a power play for the final 1:04.

But nada. Meanwhile, Casey (29 stops) came up big in the extra session given that second life.

“We had enough chances in overtime,” Bishop said. “Four of them slid it right by the post. …We’ve got to have more composure with the puck, handle the puck better, pass the puck better, and shoot more.”

And then their coach will know more.

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