Even with all the ups and downs it went through this winter, from injuries to defections to the junior ranks, the CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt ice hockey team still had a chance to make it memorable at the end.
All of that hinged on the Brothers turning back Cazenovia in Friday night’s Section III Division II quarterfinal at Onondaga Nation Arena – which it could not do, victimized by the hat trick of Colin McGaugh and the goaltending of Cameron Fry in a 3-1 loss to the Lakers.
They had met in the regular season, on Jan. 16 at the Morrisville State IcePlex. CBA/J-D led Cazenovia by two going into the third period, only to surrender that edge and take a 5-4 overtime defeat to the Lakers.
Burned by that result, the Brothers were determined to turn things around here, when the stakes were higher. And it got in front, 1-0, less than five minutes into the first period when Lynch Raby beat Fry point-blank off feeds from Jack Lester and Ryan McGuire.
At first, CBA/J-D goalie Peyton Bowler was sensational, making seven saves in the game’s first four minutes. But when things got quieter, the Brothers were more vulnerable to odd-man rushes – and with 1:14 left in the period, McGaugh sped down the left side, wound up a slap shot and beat Bowler in the top right corner to tie it, 1-1.
Aggressive and physical in the second period, CBA/J-D could not turn that aggression into a go-ahead goal. Instead, McGaugh returned and, at the 8:07 mark, took a pass from Graham Demo and scored for the second time.
From there, Fry took over. In a stretch that bridged the second and third periods, the Brothers waged an all-out attack that included a pair of power plays, but got nothing past Fry, who worked his total to 32 saves, aided in the late going by a defense that constantly blocked whatever CBA/J-D threw at the net.
Bowler finished with 38 saves, but was pulled with less than two minutes left and the Brothers still trailing 3-2. It didn’t take long for the Lakers to gain possession and see McGaugh dump the puck into the empty net for a game-clinching third goal, ending CBA/J-D’s season with a 10-10-1 mark.
A night earlier, Fayetteville-Manlius saw its run in the sectional Division I playoffs halted in the quarterfinal round when defending champion Baldwinsville used a third-period outburst to break open a tight game and beat the Hornets 5-0.
When the Bees had met F-M Jan. 8 at Cicero Twin Rinks, it used a trio of second-period goals to break the game open, eventually winning 6-2. It took a lot longer to subdue the Hornets in the playoff rematch, though.
Early in the first period, B’ville went in front on Charlie Bertrand’s goal, assisted by Garrett Gray. And that was it for quite a while, with the game staying 1-0 all through the rest of the period, plus the entire second period.
While it had a fair share of scoring opportunities, the Bees could get nothing more past F-M goaltender James Kaffenberger, who finished the night with 30 saves. F-M, meanwhile, gained a handful of chances to pull even, yet got nothing past Matt Sabourin, who would stop all 17 shots he faced.
But it was still a one-goal margin early in the third period when Kaffenberger tried to clear the puck out of his own end. But he misplayed it and Josh Racha swooped in, grabbed the turnover and converted to make it 2-0.
Energized by that break, the Bees’ attack came back to life. Gray, who had twice ripped shots off the post (just like he had done in overtime of the 2-2 tie with West Genesee on Feb. 2), finally found the net with one of those liners, while Carson Hayes and J.P. Clappa also found the net, ending F-M’s season with a 4-15-2 mark.
