What the Fayetteville-Manlius ice hockey team learned at Skaneateles on Jan. 23 may serve them well for the rest of the regular season.
True, the Hornets lost that game, 5-3, but the fact that it led in the third period against the state’s top-ranked Division II team was a display of quality that may have topped any victory against a lesser foe.
Back in the Division I ranks last Monday night, F-M took on Mohawk Valley at Cicero Twin Rinks and had some stress early before pulling away late to defeat the Raiders 5-1.
An early Tom Sadekoski goal had Mohawk Valley even with F-M 1-1 through one period, and though it did go in front in the second, it took a trio of third-period tallies for the Hornets to feel safe.
Overcoming 42 saves by Raiders goalie John Locke, five different F-M players – Ben Hammond, Jackson Denton, Mike Hockenberger, Spencer Sasenbury and John Manzi – scored, with Will Duncanson, Liam Kurak and Luke McEwen joining Manzi, Sasenbury and Hockenberger in the assist column.
Just 24 hours later, the Hornets faced Watertown IHC and prevailed again, topping the Cavaliers 3-1 and, by doing so, climbing into fourth place in the league standings.
Denton and Manzi both got two assists as goals went to Sasenbury, Duncanson and Jason Tedeschi. Josh Kuchinski also had an assist as Konrad Walburger stopped 17 of IHC’s 18 shots.
A third game in four days brought F-M up against Cicero-North Syracuse, the team with which it shares the Twin Rinks as a home facility.
And the Hornets ruined the Northstars’ Senior Night, winning 2-1 as it matched goals in the first period, went out in front in the second and held on from there with another solid defensive effort.
Jake Johnston, with his 20 saves, kept F-M ahead after Kuchinski and Hockenberger netted those early goals. Tedeschi was credited with an assist.
All this came before CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt returned to action last Friday at Shove Park, facing West Genesee. And it nearly pushed the Wildcats to overtime before a last-second strike led to a 2-1 defeat.
They traded first-period goals, Brackton Bowler converting for the Brothers off a feed from Kodi Dotterer and Billy Fisher scoring for WG. And it would stay 1-1 for a while.
Ethan White, in goal, amassed 19 saves, but CBA/J-D couldn’t get anything more past Wildcats goalie David Myers (20 saves) and, with 0.5 seconds left in regulation, James Schneid fired the puck past White to win it.
Still on the road this week, CBA/J-D (7-7-3) faces Ontario Bay and Ithaca, while F-M (10-6-1) stays at the Twin Rinks to welcome Rome Free Academy and Cazenovia.
