What the Liverpool ice hockey team taught Cicero-North Syracuse in last Monday night’s game at Lysander Arena is that the dynamic of a come-from-behind, overtime victory can work both ways.
The Warriors, having seen the Northstars benefit from such a rally in the Nov. 21 Frozen Dome Classic against Baldwinsville, did close to the same thing in this game, only this time rallying from a two-goal deficit to prevail 5-4.
Much had changed since the Dome game. Both teams had faced Mohawk Valley, with C-NS only managing a 4-4 tie at Kennedy Arena on Dec. 3, but Liverpool blanking the Raiders 4-0 just two nights later.
Now the Warriors and Northstars were together for the first of two regular-season showdowns. And it was feisty in the first period, the two sides trading scoring plays and going to intermission in a 2-2 tie.
It looked, in the course of the second period, that C-NS had grabbed control, seizing a 4-2 lead. By that point, Sutter Donegan had scored twice, with Zach Matyasik and Noah Koening also finding the net. Connor Doren, Zach Sheridan, Mike Sciore, Chris Schneid and Matt Siegel managed assists.
Despite all this, Liverpool kept on pressing, and it paid off in the third period with a pair of goals to pull even, followed by the winning tally in overtime.
Five different Warriors – Tyler Garofalo, Nate Bittel, Kyle Terzini, Bobby Welch and Donny Husted – came up with those five goals. Terzini, Welch and Husted also managed assists as Tom Bianchi and Nick Northrup also found their way to the assist column.
Shots were even most of the night, with Liverpool goalie Steve Kozikoski managing 24 saves, one less than C-NS counterpart Carson Rutkowski.
Now both teams headed to the road for separate weekend trips. Liverpool found itself at the Ontario Bay Tournament, while C-NS had games at Canton and Potsdam.
Neither side won in the opening round as Liverpool, running into Williamsville East, a Section VI school from the Buffalo suburbs, lost, 6-3, to the Flames.
All of the Warriors’ offense was produced in the third period, but that came after East had taken a 3-0 lead, eventually seeing six different players land goals, with Matt Stephan (one goal, two assists) leading the Flames’ well-balanced attack.
Husted, Welch and Nate Dombroski earned those late Liverpool goals, while Garofalo, Bittel and Riley Thompson earned assists. Kozikoski finished with 30 saves.
In Saturday’s consolation game against Ontario Bay, the Warriors rebounded, beating the Storm 6-2 as it grabbed an early 2-0 advantage, saw Ontario Bay move within one, 3-2, during the second period on goals by Matt Guarasce and Seth Lallier, but pulled away with a big third-period surge.
Welch and Husted led the charge, each of them scoring twice, while Parker Boyer stepped up with a goal and two assists. Bittel also found the net as Garofalo and Tom Bianchi notched assists, too. Noah Langdon got a turn in goal, stopping 16 of the 18 shots he faced.
As for C-NS, the trip started with a 6-0 defeat to Canton, who scored three times in the first and third periods. Rutkowski and fellow goalie Chris Burger combined for 36 saves.
But the Northstars’ skid ended Saturday with a 5-2 victory over Potsdam, secured when it scored three times in the second period to build upon its early 1-0 edge, and then by blanking the Sandstoners in the final frame.
Logan Field stod out for C-NS, notching a career-best four assists, while Siegel contributed three assists. Their passes went to the likes of Schneid, who scored twice, along with Koenig, Sheridan and Makyah Creek, who had one goal apiece.
Before C-NS can resume action Friday night against visiting Rome Free Academy, Liverpool would take on RFA Tuesday at Kennedy Arena and visit the Watertown Fairgrounds for a Thursday-night game at IHC.
