As this early point in the season, the Cazenovia ice hockey team has spent far more time practicing what it wants to do than actually doing it.
In fact, after the Lakers’ season-opening Dec. 1 romp of Utica Proctor, the Lakers had to wait 10 more days before further action, a wait compounded by the weather-enforced postponement of last Wednesday’s trip to Whitesboro.
So Cazenovia was quite eager for game action when it hosted Fayetteville-Manlius last Friday at the Morrisville State IcePlex — and it dominated on both ends of the rink to shut out the Hornets 5-0.
This was a steady effort on the Lakers’ part, not scoring more than two goals in any period, but putting constant pressure on F-M, taking 36 shots and only allowing 13, all of them kicked away by sophomore goaltender Joe Vecchiarelli.
Sam Lewis provided most of the offense. He put together a three-goal hat trick, adding an assist, as Joe Nardella got one goal and two assists. Sean Cannizzaro had one goal and one assist, with Brian Gara also getting credit for an assist.
This leads Cazenovia to its first high-profile game of the season, a Tuesday duel with 4-1 Rome Free Academy at Kennedy Arena. Following that, the Lakers visit Hamilton Friday night.