Despite their long-standing rivalry, the Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool ice hockey teams would get just one head-to-head meeting in the 2017-18 season because they compete in separate divisions.
It took place Thursday night at Lysander Ice Arena, where the visiting Northstars jumped all over the Warriors in the first period and rode that quick start to a 4-2 victory.
C-NS (4-2-2) was without four players in its lineup, but it hardly looked that way in the opening period. Led by Matt Cramer and Nick Sciore, the Northstars converted on a trio of scoring plays and took a 3-0 lead to the first intermission.
Liverpool (3-3) did get on the board in the second period, but C-NS matched it, and it was more than the Warriors could overcome, its attacks constantly thwarted by Northstars goalie Jack Doren, who stopped 26 of 28 shots he faced.
Cramer finished with two goals and one assist as Sciore got three assists. Holden Sarosy and Robert Mitchell had the other goals as Josh Matyasik also got an assist.
For the Warriors, Pat Langlois and Jack Irwin had the goals, with assists going to Carson Ferguson, Dan Laurenti and Marco Palumbo. Combined, goalies Sebastian Jesmore and Adam Bleiweiss had 36 saves.
The lead-up to this showdown involved some games early in the week, with C-NS taking on Rome Free Academy last Monday night at the Twin Rinks and, with Jake DenBleyker’s hat trick, battling past the Black Knights 3-1.
This was the same RFA team Liverpool had beaten in overtime three days earlier, on Dec. 15, yet this one did not require the Northstars to register a comeback or go beyond regulation.
Instead, DenBleyker notched a goal in each period, helping C-NS go in front and then match Derek Millington’s lone tally for the Black Knights in the second period before tacking on a third-period insurance goal.
Logan Ungelich assisted on two of DenBleyker’s goals, with assists also going to Mitchell, Sciore and Cramer. Doren, with 21 saves, turned back most of the Black Knights’ chances.
A night later, Liverpool traveled to Fulton, where it didn’t require any comeback to prevail again as it gained a 5-2 victory over the Red Raiders and improved its record to 3-2 overall.
Jumping out to a 3-1 lead by the end of the first period, the Warriors never got caught as Ferguson broke through, earning a three-goal hat trick by night’s end.
Connor Boland and Anthony Bentley also picked up goals, with Bobby Welch getting three assists. Langlois had two assists and Palumbo added one assist as Jesmore recorded 29 saves.
Liverpool’s lone action during the holiday break is a trip to Onondaga Nation Arena to face CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt next Friday afternoon. C-NS, meanwhile, would take on F-M Wednesday at the Twin Rinks facility they both call home.
