When it ventured north and east to play in last weekend’s Canton Tournament, the Cicero-North Syracuse ice hockey team was still undefeated, ready to challenge West Genesee for Division I American conference supremacy.
The Northstars were quite impressive in last Tuesday night’s game against Fulton at the Twin Rinks, steadily producing on one end and stifling the Red Raiders on the other end as it recorded a 7-0 shutout.
C-NS led 2-0 after one period, but hardly stopped there, taking 44 shots overall and converting, too, as the line of Jake DenBleyker, Matt Cramer and Holden Sarosy led the charge.
DenBleyker got a three-goal hat trick, adding two assists, with Cramer matching that point total as he scored twice and got three assists. Sarosy helped each of them, piling up four assists.
Help came, too, from the trio of Ricky Reilly, Dan Quick and Carter Wisely, each of whom contributed goals as Josh Matyasik, Logan Ungelich, Tyler Murray and Rob Mitchell got one assist apiece. Jack Doren stopped all 19 shots he faced.
In the first part of the Canton Tournament, C-NS faced host Canton and lost, 4-1, unable to get on the board until the third period, when DenBleyker scored off feeds from Cramer and Wisely. Doren finished with 28 saves.
A day later, against Potsdam, the Northstars tied the Sandstoners 2-2, with goals from DenBleyker and Ungelich as Mitchell and Nick Sciore picked up assists and Doren, with 30 saves, kept things close.
While all this was going on, Liverpool had just one game on its ledger, but it was a big one as it traveled to Meachem Rink to take on the 3-0-1 Syracuse Cougars, the heavy favorites in the Division I National Conference.
Knowing that this would provide a major early-season barometer, the Warriors went in with good intentions, but got overwhelmed by Syracuse from the outset and never could recover in a 10-0 defeat.
Part of it was timing, since this was the Cougars’ home opener and it was eager to play in front of a friendly crowd. Syracuse led 4-0 after one period and just kept adding to that total.
Between them, Liverpool goalies Gavin Busa and Sebastian Jesmore made 25 saves. Bryan O’Mara led the Cougars with four goals and one assist, with Andrew Corning scoring twice and Ryan Eccles earning three assists.
Another tough game awaited Liverpool Tuesday against Baldwinsville at the Lysander Ice Arena facility the two share. The Warriors host Watertown IHC Friday night.
Meanwhile, C-NS had its own contest with an opponent with which it shares an arena when it played Fayetteville-Manlius Tuesday, the prelude to a big Friday trip to Shove Park to get its first of two cracks at West Genesee.
