Over the course of eight days, the West Genesee and Syracuse ice hockey teams would settle matters in the Division I American Conference against each other. But even the participants had no idea just how intense the battle would get once they squared off.
Part one came Wednesday night at Meachem Rink, where the Cougars, fueled by Sean Eccles’ hat trick, built t wo different three-goal leads, only to see the Wildcats roar back and nearly catch up before Syracuse held on for a 5-4 victory.
The significance of this win went beyond claiming bragging rights in this local rivalry. Now Syracuse had a three-point lead in the American conference, so even if it loses next Wednesday’s rematch with WG at Shove Park in Camillus, it could still finish first as long as it won its other regular-season games.
But the game’s significance went beyond the standings. As much as the Cougars had accomplished getting to no. 5 in the state Division I rankings with a 12-2-1 mark, the Wildcats, with its rich history and seven consecutive Section III titles, remained the standard Syracuse had to match or beat it if wanted a championship.
What’s more, following a shaky first half to its season, WG had caught fire in January, especially in the trio of games played since Derek Farrell returned from injury. During those three games, the Wildcats outscored its opponents by a combined 29-3.
Right from the start, though, Syracuse took the game to WG, attacking hard and putting pressure on Wildcats goalie Sammy Colabufo. In particular, Sean Eccles would cause all kinds of havoc.
Midway through the first period, Eccles drew a penalty on a short-handed rush. Then, in a four-on-four situation, he scored to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead and, less than two minutes later, earned the assist when Nick Matro put home a rebound of Eccles’ shot to double the margin.
David Procopio’s power-play goal got WG on the board late in the period, but then Eccles took over again. Three minutes into the second period, Eccles, off a feed from Matro, beat Colabufo point blank, and 58 seconds later he found the net again for his third goal.
Trailing 4-1, the Wildcats were reeling, but far from finished. Jay Considine made sure of that, scoring with 1:21 left in the second period, and after Matt Eccles scored 4:44 into the third period, Considine answered just 10 seconds later.
As if the game wasn’t physical and intense enough, it only got more so after a hit on Chris Peer with 9:29 to play. Peer left the game, but the angry Wildcats went all-out after Syracuse the rest of the way.
Four times down the stretch, the Cougars earned penalties. Procopio converted on one of them with 6:51 left, and then forced Syracuse goalie Sam Walsh to make a series of close-up saves.
It all culminated with seven seconds left. Given a six-on-three opportunity after two Syracuse penalties in the waning moments, WG attacked one more time, and Grainger Sasso had a point-blank chance – but Walsh made a diving save, and the Cougars held on.
Yet this is just the first meeting. They’ll play again next Wednesday night at 7:30 on the Wildcats’ home ice, and it promises to be just as intense, if not more so.
