When the Liverpool field hockey team hits the ice Tuesday night at Greater Baldwinsville Ice Arena in Lysander for its home opener against Clinton, much more than the game is on the mind of those in attendance.
At the suggestion of senior defenseman Kyle Broughton, the Warriors are making the game a fund-raiser for the family of Baker High School junior Kelly Gleason. All ticket proceeds ($3 for adults, $2 for students) are going to Gleason’s family.
Just 16, Kelly Gleason suffered injuries in an Oct. 21 car accident on Route 20 in Genesee County, a head-on-collision that killed her mother, Audrey, who worked for the Baldwinsville School District as a jobs coach and bus driver. Audrey was just 55 at the time of her passing.
Before all this, Liverpool, under the direction of new head coaches Chris Mathes and Mike Tamilia after going 5-13-2 a season ago, opened its season with a split of its two games at the Amherst Tigers Early Bird Tournament in suburban Buffalo during Thanksgiving weekend.
The Warriors opened last Friday with a 5-1 victory over host Amherst, blazing out with four unanswered goals in the first period and cruising through the rest of the game.
Dalton Horton, Liverpool’s top returning scorer, led the way, earning two goals and one assist. Nick Bittel, Tyler Garofalo and Kody Gaulke also found the net, while Alex Bittel, Nate Bittel and J.T. Muolo each got one assist. Steve Koziloski started in goal and stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced.
In the final against Sweet Home (another Section VI team), the Warriors fell by a 6-2 margin. After the Clinton game, Liverpool is off until next Wednesday’s Division I opener against reigning sectional champion West Genesee at Shove Park. It doesn’t play at home until Dec. 11, when it faces Corcoran.
