They had built it up as a special event Wednesday night at Allyn Arena, and the ice hockey teams from Skaneateles and CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt obliged with a special game that left everyone thirsting was more.
Partially, that was because of the back-and-forth nature of the contest, but mainly it was because this showdown of undefeated teams ended in a 3-3 tie, leaving everyone waiting for the Feb. 6 rematch at Onondaga Nation Arena.
Due to the 5-0 start for the Brothers and the 4-0 start for the Lakers, the pair had shot to the top of the Division II American division standings. Adding to the anticipation was the fact that, due to a weather postponement the week before, Skaneateles still had not played a home game.
So it was the home opener at Allyn Arena – and for the occasion, Skaneateles trotted out black-and-white “throwback” sweaters for the first time, with a look that dated back to the 1920s, when the games were still held outdoors.
Everyone got into the festive mood, from the large Skaneateles student section that wore pink to the Zamboni driver who donned a Santa Claus suit to do his rounds between the second and third periods.
Oh yeah, and the game was pretty good, too.
Each side got a power play in an evenly-played first period, and each side scored. Ryan Durkin put the Brothers in front 6:39 into the game, with Zach Taylor earning the assist, but Reggie Buell answered late in the period on a Lakers man advantage, with Owen Kuhns and James Motyl getting the assists.
Right before Buell’s goal, CBA/J-D goaltender Gabe Vinal made a pair of point-blank shots, but that only served as an appetizer for what he would do in a memorable second period after Pete Dziergas scored 90 seconds into the frame on another power play to put the Brothers back in front, 2-1.
As that second period wore on, CBA/J-D went back into a defensive shell, unable to clear the puck out of its end for long stretches. That meant Vinal kept having to turn back a steady stream of Skaneateles shots, eventually making 18 saves in that period and 35 overall.
Only Motyl was able to crack the code, beating Vinal with 37.4 seconds left in the period to tie it, 2-2, and then Skaneateles took the lead for the first time 3:21 into the third period when Cullen McGlynn’s shot from the point slipped off of Vinal’s glove and past the goal line.
Action only seemed to pick up as the third period wore on, the Lakers desperate to put it away and the Brothers just as desperate to pull even, though unable to convert a five-on-three opportunity.
No power play was required, though, when Taylor broke free on the right end and, with 1:53 left in regulation, powered a wrist shot past Lakers goalie Kyle Oschner, tying the game again.
For the rest of regulation, plus five minutes of overtime, both sides battled hard to get the game-winner, but could not do so. Oschner made some of his best stops in that homestretch and would finish with 20 saves overall.
Now the question was to see how each team would do in big games that would follow – Skaneateles in a trip Friday to Casey Park to face Auburn for the first time since losing last year’s sectional final to the Maroons, CBA/J-D facing the high-scoring Syracuse Cougars Monday night at Meachem Rink.
