If ever there was an instance where schedule changes wrought by winter weather had a negative effect on someone, the Baldwinsville ice hockey team provided it.
Denied a chance to play in a tournament in Ogdensburg the previous weekend, the Bees would make up part of that schedule in between two regularly scheduled contests, and by the end of it all was staring at its first losing streak of the season.
The Bees, who inched up a spot to no. 12 in the latest state Division I rankings, went north last Tuesday night and shut out Watertown IHC 8-0 at the Fairgrounds Arena.
With four goals in the first period, B’ville seized immediate control, but it still doubled that total over the course of the remaining two periods.
Now, though, B’ville would make up the first game it was supposed to play at Ogdensburg on the road Thursday night, and it was against Rochester McQuaid, who held the no. 5 state Division I ranking.
So it wasn’t a big surprise that the Bees saw its five-game win streak end, but the margin, a 9-2 Knights victory, was a shock since that was nearly twice as many goals as B’ville had allowed in those five wins as it outscored those foes a combined 39-5.
Humbled by McQuaid, B’ville would return home to Lysander Ice Arena Saturday to face Fairport, also from the Section V ranks, which held the no. 15 state ranking.
Just like McQuaid, the Red Raiders would prevail, though this one was much closer as the Bees lost 4-3, seeing its overall record fall to 8-3-1.
And this leads to a week of three games where the Bees go back-to-back with trips to Cicero Twin Rinks to face Fayetteville-Manlius and to Kennedy Arena to take on Rome Free Academy before hosting Whitesboro on Saturday afternoon All told, B’ville would play eight times in a 17-day span going into the decisive month of February.
