One single period of ice hockey was all it took to humble the West Genesee Wildcats – at least a little bit.
On the verge of another dominant victory over its rivals from Baldwinsville last Tuesday night at Lysander Arena, the Wildcats saw a two-goal lead slip from its grasp, and by the time it was all done, WG was all too happy to leave Lysander with a 2-2 tie, knowing it won’t have to return to that rink again this winter.
Following its 3-0 loss to the Wildcats at Shove Park on Dec. 17, the Bees had rattled off nine consecutive victories and risen to no. 7 in the state Division II rankings, only to see the streak end last Friday with a 3-2 loss to struggling Ithaca.
That single loss cost B’ville seven spots in the state rankings, so it stood at no. 14, well back of the no. 2-ranked Wildcats, who had already wrapped up the Division I American Conference regular-season title.
But WG remembered what happened in February 2015 at Lysander, when it seven-year reign as sectional champions was ended by a 5-0 defeat to B’ville in the sectional semifinals, and were bent on getting a different result now.
B’ville did play a solid first period, keeping the game 0-0 while taking six shots at Wildcats goalie Sammy Colabufo, all of them stopped. Meanwhile, the Wildcats had its share of looks, but Matt Sabourin recorded nine saves.
That set up a second period where WG completely dominated on both ends of the ice. B’ville barely had possession of the puck, finding itself fending off a continual flurry of attacks. All told, the Wildcats took 18 shots to the Bees’ one.
Despite this, WG only scored twice, both on power plays. At the 4:40 mark, just one second before Ben Dwyer’s interference penalty expired, Marshall Winn found the net, and five minutes later it was Matt McDonald’s turn, fitting a shot through a screen after passes from his two brothers, Ryan and Pat.
If not for Sabourin’s spectacular work (he finished the night with 33 saves), the margin may have gone well beyond 2-0, but it did not, which gave B’ville a glimmer of optimism as the third period got underway.
Showing far more aggression, B’ville suddenly was back in it when Dwyer’s floating shot from the left circle eluded Colabufo 1:18 into the period. That assertiveness backfired when the Bees twice drew penalties, but this time it was able to thwart WG’s power-play chances, keeping the game 2-1.
Then, with 2:19 left, B’ville drew a face-off in WG’s end and won it, the puck drifting back to Matt Metcalf, who off feeds from Charlie Bertrand and Andrew Starratino sent a shot that crashed into the top left corner of the net to tie it.
Newly energized, the Bees rode that momentum into overtime, where Garrett Gray got within an inch of winning it, only to see his hard shot clang off the crossbar and two other chances go just wide.
Back home at Shove Park Friday night, WG hosted Liverpool, whom it beat 4-1 in December. Now, on Senior Night for the quartet of Matt McDonald, Ryan McDonald, Conor Bartlett and Steve Anderson, WG used a late surge to turn a close battle into a solid 7-2 victory over the Warriors.
Despite a decided shot advantage, the Wildcats only led 2-1 until it notched a goal late in the second period to double that margin. That single tally seemed to demoralize Liverpool and ignite WG, who tacked on four more tallies in the third period, with Matt McDonald leading the way thanks to his goal and four assists.
Jeff Kopek and Ryan McDonald each scored twice, with Dan Colabufo and Timmy Winn notching single goals. Anderson and Pat McDonald joined Jay Considine and Garrett Schnorr in the assist column.
All that is left for WG in the regular season is Tuesday night’s visit to Fulton, who spent the last week surprising Syracuse 4-2 and pushing B’ville in a 3-2 defeat, so it’s one the Wildcats will not look past as the Section III tournament looms.
