Lysander — In its first five games, the Baldwinsville ice hockey team managed just 13 goals, and seven of them came against Fulton on Dec. 5, with the Bees battling inconsistency for long stretches before and after that single outburst.
Then Mohawk Valley arrived at Lysander Arena last Friday night, and something changed. What was a hesitant attack turned lethal, producing an insurmountable margin in the first two periods and eventually reaching double digits in a 10-2 romp over the Raiders.
Mohawk Valley was far from a pushover, having started the season 5-1, its lone blemish a defeat to West Genesee on Dec. 9, which came two days before B’ville took a 3-0 shutout to those same Wildcats at Shove Park.
Now these two WG victims went at it, and B’ville started strong, gaining a 3-1 lead through one period. Yet even that was a prelude to a second period, where the Bees notched five unanswered goals on the shell-shocked Raiders and gained an 8-1 edge.
By game’s end, 13 different players had notched at least one point, but none had more than three points as Garrett Gray had two goals and one assist, with Matt Monaco adding a goal and two assists.
Matt Metcalf also found the net twice as Ben Dwyer, Josh Racha and Noah Lindsay each had one goal and one assist. Riley Smith and Andrew Starrentino earned the other goals as Isaiah Pompo and David Eckmann had two assists apiece. Single assists went to Connor Carhart and Carson Hayes.
Looking for its third straight win, the Bees took on Watertown IHC Tuesday night at Lysander, and while the goal total was not as gaudy, B’ville still was quite productive as it handled the Cavaliers 6-1.
All of those goals came in the first two periods, with B’ville up 2-0 through one frame before unloading in the second period, and Gray was at the heart of it, twice finding the net and also getting a pair of assists.
continued — Monaco and Isaiah Pompo were close behind, each earning a goal and two assists, while Dwyer and Metcalf also found the net. Carhart and Charlie Bertrand finished with one assist apiece.
So B’ville, with those 16 combined goals against Mohawk Valley and IHC, more than doubled its season total from the first five games, an encouraging sign as 2015 wound down.
Early next week, B’ville, no. 14 in the latest state Division I rankings (Syracuse is no.1 and West Genesee is no. 8), would have a pair of non-league games, facing Auburn Monday at Casey Park Rink and then hosting New Hartford. The Maroons and Spartans are no. 13 and 15, respectively, in the state Division II rankings.