For the Fayetteville-Manlius ice hockey team, the question of whether it gets into the Division I playoffs will not get answered until the end.
What cannot be questioned, though, was the immense generosity of the players, coaches and fans of the F-M program, put on full display in last Wednesday night’s 6-3 victory over Cicero-North Syracuse.
More than 2,000 fans were on hand at Onondaga Nation Arena for the “Pink in the Rink” celebration. All told, the team and its boosters raised more than $10,000 to promote breast cancer awareness.
F-M wore special pink jerseys for the evening, and was understandably nervous playing in front of the massive crowd in Nedrow, though it still seized a 1-0 lead in the first period.
Once the second period started, though, the Hornets settled down, and despite C-NS getting on the board, the Hornets expanded its lead to 4-2. Two more goals would follow in the final period.
Trevor Chase managed a three-goal hat trick, adding an assist. Cooper Holick also had four points, through two goals and two assists, with Dante Capriotti getting the other goal.
Tim Maalouf, Mateo Capriotti and Ryan Amidon each had one assist. In goal, Ben Napierala recorded 29 saves, three more than Northstars counterpart Alex Johnston – and the margin was three.
With a chance to improve its standing in last Monday’s game against Solvay at Allyn Arena in Skaneateles, the Hornets took a 4-2 defeat to the Bearcats.
Much like in recent games, F-M struggled in the first two periods, falling behind 4-1, but this time it could not make up the difference, despite a decided advantage in scoring chances.
Anthony Angello and Matt McDonough earned the Hornets’ goals, while Holick and Alex Ferrara earned assists. Every other time, though, F-M saw shots get turned away by Solvay goalie Ryan Bonk, who made 34 saves. Carmen Gacek (two goals) and Cameron Bennett (one goal, one assist) led the Bearcats’ attack.
Right after the win over C-NS, the Hornets took a trip to Auburn on Friday and had one of its best overall efforts of the season in handling the Maroons 7-3.
Leading most of the way, F-M only took a 3-2 edge to the third period, where, led by Angello, it lit up the Maroons for four goals and put the game away.
Involved in everything, Angello amassed four goals and two assists before the night was done. Holick contributed four assists, while Chase found the net twice. Mateo Capriotti had the other goal as Kevin O’Neil managed an assist, too.
While all this was going on, CBA/J-D further strengthened its Division II playoff hopes by going to Fulton and, with an explosive first period, rolling to a 7-1 victory over the Red Raiders.
In those first 15 minutes, the Brothers scored five times, deciding matters early. Brendan Flanagan led the way, earning three goals as Nick Papayanakos, with a goal and two assists, augmented Flanagan’s hat trick.
John Phillips, Taylor Furst and Deke Burns each scored, too, while Scott Firman managed a pair of assists. Braeden Doust contributed one assist.
