Though they both had all kinds of things they still needed to work on in the early portion of the season, the West Genesee and Syracuse ice hockey teams still earned crucial Division I victories on home ice in wildly varying manners.
At Shove Park last Tuesday night, the Wildcats hosted Fayetteville-Manlius, and it proved tense and close all the way to the end before WG pulled it out 2-1.
When Will Duncanson scored in the first period, the Hornets took a 1-0 lead, and envisioned that it could avenge last year’s Section III semifnal defeat to the Wildcats on this same ice.
But from there WG’s defense shut F-M down, rarely surrendering sustained pressure as goaltender David Myers finished with 17 saves.
However, the Wildcats’ attack was quiet until James Schneid, off a feed from Billy Fisher, scored midway through the second period to tie it, 1-1.
They stayed that way deep into the third period, but with 2:07 to play in regulation Fisher, getting a pass from James Schneid, put it past Hornets goalie Jake Johnston for the game-winner. Andrew Schneid and Jake Kopek got credit for assists, too.
While this went on, Syracuse was blasting Cazenovia 10-0, rebounding well from its Dec. 7 defeat to Baldwinsville in the finals of the Bobby Conklin Tournament.
A six-goal second period broke it open as Cameron Walsh got a three-goal hat trick, with Kaleb Benedict notching three assists to go with his pair of tallies. Luke Dwyer and Colin Johnson also finished with three assists.
Ryan Durand got a goal and two assists, with Dwyer, Stephen Matro, Trevor Wright and Michael Madigan also finding the net. Zach Delaney, Tom Rioux and Shemar Thomas earned assists.
West Genesee faced Victor (Section V) Thursday night and again struggled on offense, the result a 4-1 defeat to the Blue Devils.
Victor broke it open by scoring three times in the second period to counteract the Wildcats’ lone tally from Liam Burns. The Blue Devils’ four goals were scored by four different players – Nick Peluso, Steven Armstrong, Andrew Haugh and Sam Bresson
Syracuse, meanwhile, faced a key test Friday at Kennedy Arena against Rome Free Academy, who had roared to a 3-0 start.
But it was here that the Cougars’ put together its best all-around effort so far, earning its second consecutive shutout on one end and producing enough on the other end to blank the Black Knights 4-0.
Matro put in two of Syracuse’s four goals. The others went to Durand, who got two assists, and Benedict, while Nick Richards also earned an assists and RFA was held to 14 shots, all stopped by Evan Carter.
Syracuse would get a chance at immediate payback against Baldwinsville when the two played at Meachem Wednesday, two days before Section I’s Mamaroneck visits.
West Genesee, meanwhile, would face Watertown IHC and Cicero-North Syracuse back-to-back on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
