ONONDAGA COUNTY –
For all the good work it had done through its early portion of the 2021 season, the West Genesee ice hockey team was energized by the thought of getting the best of the reigning Section III Division I champions from Syracuse.
The Cougars had, of course, beaten the Wildcats in last winter’s sectional final at the War Memorial, and their meeting Wednesday night at Shove Park promised to have all sorts of energy and sparks.
But WG didn’t get there undefeated.
Late last Thursday night at Cicero Twin Rinks, the Wildcats ran into Fayetteville-Manlius and, for the first time since 2005, lost to the Hornets in a 4-3 overtime decision, ending a five-game win streak.
F-M was playing for the third time in as many nights, and though it had won the previous two, they had come against teams (Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool) without a victory in 2021.
Despite this, the Hornets played WG to a 2-2 draw through two periods, and though the Wildcats went ahead early in the third period, F-M tied it again on Jonas Oesterle’s power-play goal late in regulation in a six-on-four power play.
Given a power play in the closing seconds, the Wildcats were unable to convert it as it spilled into OT and then F-M pulled it out with Jackson Denton’s goal off a turnover.
The Wildcats’ three goals came from three different players – Jeremy Keyes, Joe Snyder and Ryan Kemp – with Liam Burns, Mike Bergan and Jared Jaeger earning assists.
Before this, WG won its fourth straight game last Monday at State Fair Coliseum, where it waged a constant attack against Liverpool on the way to a 3-0 shutout.
The story of the game was how Warriors goaltender James Welch kept his side competitive. Averaging more than a shot a minute, the Wildcats could get little past Welch, who made 75 saves and blanked WG in the third period.
Keyes did put a pair of shots past Welch, while Will Schneid had the other goal. Assists were credited to Anthony Felix and Patrick Quinn as the Wildcats held Liverpool to just eight shots all night.
Back at Shove Park two nights later, WG faced C-NS. Scoring twice in each period and again proving stingy on the defensive side, the Wildcats doubled the margin of the Liverpool game and prevailed 6-0.
Though C-NS took 17 shots, David Myers stopped all of them. On the other end, Keyes again scored twice, adding an assist as Schneid and Bergan both produced a goal and assist. Felix chimed in with two assists as the other goals went to Ryan Stratton and Braeden McNeill.
The F-M loss halted WG’s momentum, which it hoped to regain Monday against Baldwinsville before it took on the Cougars.
To start its week, Syracuse ventured north to face Ontario Bay, a high-scoring affair where the Cougars proved more productive and defeated the Storm 7-4.
For the second time this winter, Jameson Bucktooth recorded a three-goal hat trick, with support from Luke Dwyer, who scored twice and added an assist.
Owen Mahar’s passes led to three assists as Nelson Jones got two assists. Colin Johnson had one goal and one assist, with Matt Gilmore earning the other goal. Ethan Petty also gained an assist.
Just 24 hours later, the Cougars traveled to Fulton, and while maintaining its own consistent production, Syracuse stymied the Red Raiders from beginning to end, earning a 7-0 shutout.
Colin Johnson had two goals and one assist, with Dwyer getting three assists. Brady Hubbard got a goal and two assists as Bucktooth, Gilmore and Adam Frye also scored. Cameron Walsh picked up a pair of assists.
From there, Syracuse proceeded to hammer Liverpool 8-1 on Friday night to improve to 5-2 overall, a four-goal second period breaking the game open as Dwyer and Liam Mahar both scored twice.
Bucktooth and Jones both earned a goal and two assists. Petty and Will Glass also had two-assist outings as Gilmore and Walsh each had one goal and one assist.
