Going into the decisive month of February, the CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt ice hockey team just may have timed it right.
Bothered by injuries and inconsistence in the early part of the season, the Brothers fared better in January, and never looked better than it did in last Friday night’s game against New Hartford at Onondaga Nation Arena, where it controlled matters from start to finish and ripped the Spartans 5-1.
With a visit from no. 2-ranked, reigning state champion Skaneateles looming on Tuesday, CBA/J-D paid no attention to New Hartford’s 10-3-1 record or no. 4 state Division II rankings. Instead, it put all of the aspects of its game together.
That started with the Brothers’ defense, who throughout the first two periods kept the Spartans off the board. Some of it was hustle from the back-line players, but a lot of it was magisterial work from goaltender Peyton Breeze, who would pile up 36 saves, only allowing Zach Cole’s third-period goal.
By then, CBA/J-D had a comfortable lead, mainly built in the second period, when it found the net three times to build upon its modest 1-0 margin. What was more, the contributions came from all over the roster.
Five different players – Tanner Coleman, Ben McCreary, Connor Kinahan, Doug DeMarche and Connor Flanagan – earned those five goals. Grayson Burns got a pair of assists, while Adam Fontana, Jack Austin, Jamie St. Amour and Ryan McGuire had one assist apiece.
As CBA/J-D (8-6-1) prepared for this crucial week that included Skaneateles, plus a visit to Cortland-Homer and Saturday’s home clash with Auburn, Fayetteville-Manlius was coming off last Friday’s trip to Kennedy Arena, where it played Rome Free Academy close, but lost, 3-2, to the Black Knights to fall to 3-13-1 on the season.
They were scoreless until a second-period exchange of goals. Again, both sides got on the board in the third period, but RFA edged in front, overcoming goals by Katie Neuberger and Karl Farber as Neuberger, Garrett Zogby and Will Healy earned assists.
F-M has the rest of its regular-season games at Cicero Twin Rinks, meeting its co-tenants from Cicero-North Syracuse Wednesday before taking on Watertown IHC Friday and finishing Feb. 9 against the Syracuse Cougars.
