Over a three-day stretch at the tail end of 2015, the West Genesee and Syracuse Cougars ice hockey teams would both engage in games on back-to-back nights, and each of them found plenty of success as part of a successful transition into 2016.
For its part, West Genesee visited the Albany area for a pair of games, starting with last Monday’s clash with Bethlehem, where the Wildcats asserted itself early and didn’t let up until it had downed the Eagles 7-1.
By the time the first period was done, WG was up 3-0, and it maintained that relentless pace, with Pat McDonald scoring twice and earning an assist as Ryan McDonald landed a goal and three assists.
Jay Considine also found the net twice, while Marshall Winn and Jack Birchler joined Ryan McDonald with single goals. Winn added an assist as Matt McDonald, Dan Colabufo and Steve Anderson earned one assist apiece. In the net, Sammy Colabufo stopped 13 of the 14 shots he faced.
This led to Tuesday afternoon’s game with Shaker/Colonie, who had just beaten Fayetteville-Manlius 3-1. Unimpressed by this, WG put together a decisive second-period surge and rolled to a 7-2 victory.
Already with a 2-1 advantage, the Wildcats put Shaker/Colonie away with four unanswered goals in that second period, and Ryan McDonald led the way, eventually gaining a three-goal hat trick to go with a lone assist.
Anderson put together a goal and two assists, while Dan Colabufo had one goal and one assist. Other goals went to Chris Peer and Ryann Washo as Ryan Smith contributed two assists. Winn, Birchler, Jeff Kopek and Jack Miller had one assist apiece.
This busy week ended at Shove Park with the Wildcats taking on Pittsford (Section V) on Saturday night and remaining on a roll, claiming a 6-2 victory by dominating the game’s latter stages.
Pittsford remained even most of the way, only trailing by one, 3-2, going into the third period before WG got clear in large part due to Ryan McDonald’s three-goal hat trick and a pair of goals from Pat McDonald. Anderson had the other goal as Winn, Kopek and Dan Colabufo had two assists apiece. Single assists went to Considine, Smith, Conor Bartlett and Matt McDonald.
Meanwhile, Syracuse, still atop the state Division I rankings (with West Genesee still at no. 8), visited Ithaca last Tuesday to continue a stretch where it was playing six consecutive road games before the Jan. 14 showdown with West Genesee at Meachem Rink.
At Ithaca, the Cougars defeated the Little Red 6-2, settling matters by roaring to a 5-0 lead in the first two periods, anchored by Matt Eccles, who scored twice and added an assist, and Bryan O’Mara, who notched three assists to go with his lone goal.
Andrew Hodgens and Phillp Zollo weren’t far behind, each of them with one goal and one assist as Conrad Skrupa also found the net. Ryan Eccles contributed a pair of assists, with single assists going to Colby Skrupa and Ryan Evanchak. Between them, goalies Jake Polacek and Jack Klawitter made 22 saves.
Then the Cougars went to the Twin Rinks to take on Cicero-North Syracuse on Wednesday afternoon, and despite the quick turnaround, the Cougars again handled its assignment, rolling to a 5-1 victory over the Northstars.
A three-goal outburst in the second period broke the game open after Syracuse took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame. O’Mara scored twice, adding an assist, while Zollo and Ryan Eccles each had a goal and two assists. Matt Eccles notched the other goal and C.J. Walsh contributed an assist as Polacek stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced.
With a perfect 9-0 record, Syracuse returns to the Twin Rinks this weekend for back-to-back games against Oswego and CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt, the latter a rematch of a tough 2-1 Cougars win at Onondaga Nation Arena on Dec. 22. West Genesee, at 8-1, hosts Rome Free Academy Wednesday night and Watertown IHC on Friday.
