One more win to go.
The Cazenovia ice hockey team rallied for the second game in a row, pushing its way past Section II champion Queensbury 4-2 in Saturday’s state Division II semifinals at Utica Memorial Auditorium.
Trailing after the first period, the Lakers used its speed, skill and depth to wear the Spartans down, eventually taking 35 shots to Queensbury’s 13, and stayed patient before zooming in front during the game’s middle stages.
The first period alone featured 14 Cazenovia shots and plenty of other scoring chances. Yet Queensbury goaltender Dylan Hafner stopped all of them, keeping the Lakers off the board.
Meanwhile, a Sean Cannizzaro turnover allowed a chance for the Spartans that Kevin Valenti converted 6:58 into the game, and the Lakers trailed, 1-0, the same modest deficit it faced against Salmon River in the state quarterfinals a week earlier.
Now, as then, it didn’t faze the Lakers one bit. Five minutes into the second period, Cazenovia was in the midst of yet another push when Lucas Catania’s shot from the right side glanced off John Greacen’s stick past Hafner, tying it 1-1.
Later in the period, an all-out Laker push included a series of shots before Brian Gara, the team’s leading goal-scorer, drew the defense toward him, then found an open Sam Lewis, who put home the go-ahead tally.
Up 2-1 going to the final period, the Lakers got away with more work from Gara, who pounded home a rebound to increase the margin to two. Less than two minutes later, Sean Cannizzaro made a long charge, went behind the net, then fed a well-timed pass to Connor Cannizzaro, who converted to make it 4-1, putting the game out of reach.
Now the Lakers (23-0) are just one victory from a perfect run to its first-ever state championship, and only Williamsville East, a Section III school from the Buffalo suburbs, stand in the way Sunday at 12:30. The Flames needed double overtime to fight past Pelham 3-2 in the other semifinal, and get less than 24 hours to recharge before taking a shot at ruining Cazenovia’s dream season at the last possible moment.
