Perhaps the worst thing to happen to the Cicero-North Syracuse ice hockey team was the winter storm that wiped out the C-NS Optimist Tournament slated for the first weekend of January at the Twin Rinks.
Instead of building upon its 6-2-2 record, the Northstars had to sit around, reschedule games and then host Ithaca last Tuesday night for a tough test just 24 hours before a big showdown with the Syracuse Cougars.
Those fears were confirmed when C-NS lost, 4-3, to the Little Red, despite Jake DenBleyker earning two goals and assisting on the other, by Matt Cramer, who assisted on both of DenBleyker’s tallies.
Logan Ungelich matched Cramer with two assists, while Josh Matyasik also had an assist.
And now came the trip to Meachem Rink to meet Syracuse, whom C-NS hoped was looking ahead to its Section III Division I finals rematch with West Genesee at Shove Park later in the week.
But the Cougars were focused on the immediate task, and prevailed 4-0, scoring twice in the first period to seize control and then putting up a defensive wall to protect that margin, eventually doubling it.
Jack Doren turned away 26 of Syracuse’s 30 shots. The problem was that C-NS didn’t pressure often enough, taking just 15 shots, all topped by Cougars netminder Jack Klawitter.
On the other end, Syracuse’s top scorer, Bryan O’Mara, proved unselfish, getting three assists as Ryan Eccles converted twice, with Philip Zollo adding a goal and assist and Andrew Corning also finding the net.
To recover, C-NS would make up one of the lost Optimist Tournament games against CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt Saturday, and play at the Syracuse War Memorial, just like the Northstars did when it beat Fayetteville-Manlius on Dec. 29.
Meanwhile, Liverpool kept struggling, too, taking on Mohawk Valley last Tuesday night at Lysander Arena and taking a 4-2 loss to the Raiders.
Neither team got on the board until the second period, when Connor Boland twice found the net for the Warriors, with assists going to Pat Langlois, Dylan Husted and Jack Irwin.
Yet Mohawk Valley matched those totals and then broke a 2-2 tie in the third period, overcoming 27 saves by Liverpool goalie Gavin Buza. Marcus Allen led the Raiders with a goal and two assists, and Michael Eastman stopped 40 of the 42 Warriors shots he faced.
Liverpool’s game against F-M on Friday got postponed, as did a C-NS game with CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt that was set for Saturday at the Syracuse War Memorial.
This leads to a week where, if the schedule holds, the Warriors will have three home games, welcoming Rome Free Academy Tuesday before back-to-back weekend tests against Thousand Islands and Hilton. C-NS has games at Mohawk Valley and Oswego.
