In the midst of a late-sesaon surge that put them into the state Division I rankings, the Liverpool ice hockey also got a long-awaited win over its neighbors.
The Warriors met Baldwinsville Tuesday night at the Greater B’ville Ice Arena facility the two programs share, and with Dalton Horton coming up big, especially in the third period, the Warriors skated past the Bees 3-1 for its first win over B’ville in eight long years.
They had first played back on Dec. 3, with B’ville using a late goal to pull out a 4-3 decision. More than a month later, the Warriors were the hot hand, having gone 3-0-1 in its last four games and sneaking into the state Division I poll in the no. 14 spot.
And this game had real stakes. With 11 points, Liverpool was two points ahead of B’ville for second place in the Division I National Conference, and both still had a chance to catch first-place Rome Free Academy, with the Bees and Warriors both facing the Black Knights next week.
Despite the stakes, and despite the fierce rivalry the two share, the first period proved lethargic, as neither side could generate many scoring chances. However, Liverpool goalie Steven Kozikoski did stop Adam Tretowicz point-blank on a breakaway at the 5:30 mark.
It was still 0-0 when, early in the second period, the Warriors went on the power play. And here was where Horton started to take over as, at the 4:40 mark, he pounced on a rebound of Kyle Terzini’s shot while Bees goalie Nick Harper was still laying on the ice and poked the puck in the net.
Barely four minutes later, it was tied again, 1-1. B’ville, on its first power play of the night, worked the puck around until Matt Abbott, taking a feed from Adam Tretowicz, sent a perfectly timed pass to the doorstep of the net, where Garrett Gray easily converted before Kozikoski could get there.
Both sides entered the third period with renewed energy – and then Horton immediately took it away from the Bees. Just 22 seconds into the final frame, Horton, situated in front of the net, redirected Kody Gaulke’s pass and put in the go-ahead goal.
Not done yet, Horton returned to deliver an insurance goal with 4:50 play, this time passing from the wing to Gaulke, who scored. B’ville would earn a penalty shot with 1:01 left, but Kozikoski forced Gray to shoot it high over the net. All told, Kozikoski made 31 saves, eight more than Harper.
As high as things were after this win, they nearly crashed for Liverpool in Friday night’s game against its other neighbor and rival, Cicero-North Syracuse, but the Warriors rallied in the third period to rescue a 2-1 victory over the Northstars.
Against the same C-NS side it routed 5-1 back on Dec. 11 at the Twin Rinks, the Warriors’ attack went cold in the first two periods. Despite dominating the flow of play, Liverpool got nothing past Northstars goalie Brandon Gloska, who would finish with 40 saves.
Meanwhile, C-NS inched into a 1-0 lead thanks to Ben Cummings’ second-period goal, assisted by Noah Koening and Chris Schneid, and as they headed into the final period, the Northstars, who entered the game with a 2-10-1 record, were on the brink of a big upset.
But the Warriors spoiled those plans. Twice in those last 15 minutes, Liverpool got shots past Gloska as J.T. Muolo earned assists on the goals from Horton and Tom Bianchi and Terzini also managed an assist.
