CAMILLUS – When it really was needed, the West Genesee ice hockey team relied on a formula that has worked so well for them – stifling defense combined with timely goals – to earn a shot at its first Section III Division I title in five years.
The top-seeded Wildcats toppled no. 4 seed Syracuse 4-0 in Wednesday night’s semifinal at a jam-packed Shove Park, not only ending the Cougars’ reign as sectional champions, but getting the best kind of immediate payback against its neighbors.
Three weeks earlier at Meachem Rink, WG suffered its lone regular-season league loss to Syracuse in a 6-5 thriller that featured plenty of production on both ends and wasn’t decided until Cougars goalie Conor Rose stopped Jeremy Keyes on a penalty shot in the waning seconds of regulation.
Upset at the way its defense struggled in that game, WG changed its tactics for the rematch – and it worked quite well.
“We had a new game plan, executed it and played a lot better,” said forward Liam Burns. “Everyone worked hard and played together.”
Head coach Frank Colabufo said that keeping Syracuse from end-to-end rushes, responsible for most of Owen Mahar’s four goals in the first meeting, was crucial, and WG applied pressure whenever Mahar or his fellow forwards tried to find open ice.
The Wildcats did so with what Colabufo called a “defense by committee”, with Jack Gianuzzi and Ryan Considine joined on the back line by, at various points, Kyle Evanchak, Patrick Quinn and Jesse Desena, all of whom were effective.
Also, WG had senior Dylan Desena in goal. He said he learned plenty from watching Syracuse the first time and, once he made his first stop of the night, felt more comfortable in the net.
Ultimately, Syracuse took 23 shots, and Desena stopped all of them, the pressure abating when the Wildcats seized control in the last minute of the first period.
Mere moments after Keyes saw a possible goal disallowed, WG got on the power play and, just 6.4 seconds before the period ended, converted when Will Schneid fired it past Rose from the right circle, assisted by Considine and Ryan Stratton.
Burns took his turn by pouncing on a loose puck and scoring 2:36 into the second period. Then Stratton gave Syracuse a taste of its own specialty when he raced end-to-end and, unassisted, beat Rose at the 12:21 mark.
Having already killed three different Syracuse power plays, the Wildcats converted on one when Burns, short-handed, earned his second goal off a turnover in the last minute of the period.
Burns said that, instead of his team feeling pressure to win, was having fun at this time of year. One more win, and a sectional title, would certainly add to that good feeling.
To get it, WG will, on Monday night at Upstate Medical University Arena, need to defeat Baldwinsville, who topped Cazenovia 6-3 in the other semifinal game. The Wildcats beat the Bees 7-2 in their only regular-season meeting, but that was back on Nov. 30, and B’ville has only lost once since.
