Even as it rose to the no. 3 spot in the state Division I rankings with an eight-game unbeaten streak, the Baldwinsville ice hockey team had one dream – defeating long-time rival and nemesis West Genesee – to chase.
And when the Bees and Wildcats got together for their lone regular-season meeting last Friday at Shove Park, that dream was within grasp, only to get snatched away late in a 3-3 tie.
Having won the last seven Section III Division I titles, West Genesee had gained an aura of greatness, but injuries and roster turnover had produced a middling 4-4-2 mark during the first half of the Wildcats’ regular season.
Still, the flames of its rivalry with B’ville, plus home-ice advantage in Camillus, gave WG plenty to feel good about, and the Bees could not dissipate that good feeling, despite its best efforts.
During an evenly played first period, each side had chances, with WG unable to convert on two power plays. When the Bees got the man advantage, though, it took a 1-0 lead midway through the frame, Matt Abbott putting in the rebound of Alex Paterson-Jones’ shot.
Early in the second period, A nifty wrist shot by Taylor Gebhardt flew past Wildcats goalie Sammy Colabufo to make it 2-0. Needing a spark, the hosts got it from Ryan McDonald, who just as his team’s third power play ended, broke free and, taking Matt McDonald’s pass, fired one into the net.
McDonald was far from done. With yet another man advantage late in the second period, WG’s David Procopio sent a shot from the right side that McDonald deflected past Bees goalie Matt Sabourin to tie it at the 12:57 mark.
They stayed 2-2 until the third period. Upon getting another power play, B’ville called its time-out and, keeping the puck in WG’s end, didn’t stop until Kyle Lindsay’s angled shot beat Colabufo, Abbott and Adam Tretowicz earning the assists.
Now it was up to the Wildcats’ defense to keep the game close – which it did, twice killing off Bees power plays and gaining energy from those stops. Colabufo got more confident, too, turning away shots that may have put the game out of reach.
And with 2:36 left in regulation, McDonald again broke free on the right side, and when his shot found the net, the hat trick was complete, and the game was even again.
The action didn’t let up, though. Through the last stages of the third period and five minutes of frantic overtime play, WG and B’ville both had glorious chances to win the game, but got turned back, Colabufo running his total to 23 saves and Sabourin getting 26 saves, two of them pad stops in the final seconds of OT to preserve the tie.
What made it even more difficult for B’ville was that it had to return home less than 24 hours later on Saturday afternoon to take on Fairport, who sat at no. 4 in those same state Division I rankings.
Tired from the battle the night before, the Bees lost, 3-0, to the Red Raiders, surrendering a pair of first-period goals and not able to recover against a tight Fairport defense. Sabourin did all he could to keep the game from getting away, stopping 34 of the 37 shots he faced.
If nothing else, B’ville didn’t get caught looking ahead to this big weekend, for when it hosted Fayetteville-Manlius last Tuesday night, the Bees were in control from start to finish, cruising to a 6-1 victory over the Hornets.
Having tied New Hartford 3-3 in its last outing Jan. 2, B’ville wasn’t about to let F-M hang around. Steadily, it gained a 4-0 lead through two periods, and while the shutout couldn’t hold due to Tavish Daly’s third-period goal for F-M, everything else remained in good form.
Six different players scored the six goals. Joe Glamos backed up his single tally with a pair of assists, while Andy Rossler also got two assists.
Charlie Bertrand had one goal and one assist as Adam Tretowicz, James Pelcher, Jake Norton and Josh Racha also found the net. Sabourin, aside from his 10 saves, also got his first assist of the season, joining Ben Dwyer and Alex Paterson-Jones in that column.
So with that tough weekend behind them, B’ville, with a 7-2-2 mark, awaits another big Division I game on Friday when it visits Meachem Rink to take on Syracuse, whom it beat 3-2 in the finals of the Bobby Conklin Memorial Tournament on Dec. 6. A Saturday trip to Rochester to face Section V McQuaid will follow.
