Now the Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool ice hockey teams have both gone through encounters with Baldwinsville – in vastly different circumstances, and with vastly different results, though their meetings with Mohawk Valley would also prove divergent.
Where the Northstars played – and beat – the Bees in overtime in the Frozen Dome Classic at the Carrier Dome, the Warriors dealt with them last Tuesday night in the more modest surroundings of Lysander Arena (which both teams call home), and lost by a 4-0 margin.
Timing had something to do with it. B’ville had stewed for 11 days since squandering a 2-1 lead late in regulation in the Dome and taking that 3-2 defeat to the Northstars, and were bent on making sure that didn’t happen again.
To that end, the Bees moved in front, 1-0, in the first period. And it stayed that way for a while, the Warriors’ defense doing everything within its power to atone for allowing eight goals to CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt in its Nov. 28 opener and Steve Kozikoski excelling in the net, finishing with 34 saves.
Early in the third period, though, the Bees started to get away, scoring to make it 2-0, and then tacking on two more tallies in the latter stages. Joe Glamos scored twice, with James Pelcher and Andrew Starrentino getting the other goals.
Liverpool had plenty of its own chances, but could not get anything past B’ville goaltender Matt Sabourin, whose 32 saves led to a shutout and partially atoned for the pain of the Dome defeat.
Nearly two weeks after its memorable Dome win, C-NS went back into action last Wednesday night against Mohawk Valley at Kennedy Arena in Rome, and could not provide similar overtime magic, with the Raiders managing to salvage a 4-4 tie.
Remarkably, the first period ended 3-2 in C-NS’s favor, exactly similar to the Dome game with B’ville. Both defenses settled down from there, with an exchange of goals in the second period, but then the Northstars got shut out in the third period as MV pulled even. The two sides would go through five minutes of OT without a resolution.
Sutter Donegan, author of the game-winning goal in the Dome, was one of three Northstars with one goal and one assist, joining Connor Doren and Mike Sciore in that category. Chris Schneid earned the other goal, with Logan Field contributing an assist.
Austin Dreimiller scored twice to lead the Raiders in a game where both sides had all kinds of chances. Carson Rutkowski finished with 32 saves, one less than MV counterpart Emerson Carpenter.
Then Mohawk Valley met Liverpool on Friday night in Lysander, and it proved a far different outcome, the Warriors earning first first win of the season by blanking the Raiders 3-0.
Aggressive from the outset, Liverpool took 36 shots on Carpenter, and broke through with a pair of second-period goals before adding an insurance tally in the final period.
Donny Husted scored twice to lead the Warriors’ attack. Nate Bittel had the other goal, with Riley Thompson, Nick Northrup, Richie Hart and Tyler Garofalo earning one assist apiece. Earning his first shutout of the season, Kozikoski turned back all 22 shots he faced.
This sets up a week that opens with Monday night’s clash between C-NS and Liverpool at Lysander. The Northstars then take a weekend road trip to Canton and Potsdam, while the Warriors also travel and play in the Ontario Bay Tournament.
