A full five years removed from its unbeaten run to a state championship, the Cazenovia ice hockey team conjured up some post-season magic again – at least for one night.
It came in the form of seeing forward Colin McGaugh, with his hat trick, and goaltender Cameron Fry, with a series of clutch stops between the pipes, carry the Lakers past CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt 3-1 in Friday night’s Section III Division II quarterfinal at Onondaga Nation Arena in Nedrow.
Cazenovia and CBA/J-D had met Jan. 16 at the Morrisville State IcePlex. In that encounter, the Lakers trailed by two going into the third period, only to rally and pull off a 5-4 overtime victory.
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.
Following that, 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. Aside from Demo, Jake Lewis, Adam Race and Brenden Whalen each got credit for an assist in this game.
With that victory, Cazenovia (14-5-2) moves on to face New Hartford (16-4-1) in Wednedsay night’s sectional semifinal.
The Spartans beat Cortland-Homer 2-0 in its playoff opener, and own two regular-season wins over the Lakers, though Cazenovia’s 4-3 defeat on Feb. 6 at the IcePlex was far closer than the 7-0 rout it took on New Hartford’s ice on Dec. 15.
Either way, Cazenovia has to turn around those earlier outcomes with the Spartans if it wants to go to Utica Memorial Auditorium for next Sunday’s sectional title game at noon against Skaneateles or Auburn.
