Somewhere in mid-December, the Baldwinsville ice hockey regained its goal-scoring tough – and ensuing opponents have paid for it.
From netting just 13 goals in its first five games on the way to a 3-2 start, the state Division I no. 11-ranked Bees tacked on 16 goals in Division I American Conference wins over Mohawk Valley and Watertown IHC, and continued that strong play into a pair of games against Division II contenders during the holiday break.
First, B’ville visited Auburn last Monday night, and despite the Maroons’ strong start, it could not contain the red-hot Bees, either, who controlled the game from start to finish and won by a 6-1 margin.
Ironically, Auburn entered the game with a 6-1 record, its lone blemish a Dec. 18 defeat to Cazenovia where the Lakers scored four times in the final five minutes to overcome a three-goal deficit.
B’ville required none of those theatrics to conquer the Maroons, instead surging out in front with a trio of first-period goals and never losing control as 10 different players registered at least one point by game’s end.
Isaiah Pompo scored twice, adding an assist, while Garrett Gray piled up three assists. Charlie Bertrand gained one goal and one assist as Connor Carhart, David Eckmann and Brett Sabourin also found the net. Matt Monaco, Anthony Pompo, Josh Racha and J.P. Clappa had one assist apiece.
Just as important was the way B’ville’s defense took over. Aside from Johnny Malandruccolo’s first-period goal, it gave up nothing else to Auburn as it got in front of pucks and saw Matt Sabourin stop 22 of the 23 shots he faced.
Back at Lysander Arena on Wednesday night, B’ville welcomed New Hartford, who sported its own 6-2 mark. Looking for its fifth win in a row, the Bees got it through a mix of puck control and defensive grit as it shut out the Spartans 3-0.
All through the opening period, B’ville probed and stayed patient, and then broke through at the 11:40 mark when Bertrand netted the game’s first goal.
That momentum carried over into the second period, when Eckmann made it 2-0 and Gray assisted on Matt Metcalf’s goal six minutes later. By this point, Carhart, Racha, Chris Speelman, Zach Perez and Isaiah Pompo had all recorded assists.
Then the Bees got careless in the third period, earning a series of penalties. That gave New Hartford several chances to break the shutout, but it could not do so, Sabourin constantly denying them as his 21 saves preserved the three-goal margin.
B’ville plays just once next week, going to Cicero Twin Rinks to face Fayetteville-Manlius on Jan. 8 as it hits the midway point of the regular season.
