Having already played twice this season on the ice at the Onondaga County War Memorial, the Cicero-North Syracuse ice hockey team was hoping that it could make a third trip there and play for the Section III Division I championship.
However, the Syracuse Cougars made sure this did not happen, containing the Northstars through most of Wednesday night’s sectional semifinal at Meachem Rink as C-NS took a 6-1 defeat.
Following its 3-1 win over Rome Free Academy in the Feb. 16 opening round at the Twin Rinks, the Northstars plotted on how to turn things around against a Cougars side that shut them out 4-0 early in January.
And for one period, the game plan worked. C-NS held Syracuse to a single goal and then tied it, 1-1, when Matt Cramer converted with 1:26 left in the first period off feeds from Jake DenBleyker and Ethan Osgood.
Just 17 seconds later, though, Syracuse regained the lead, and that quick answer seemed to deflate the Northstars, who, while only trailing 2-1 at intermission, would not recover.
Syracuse steadily applied pressure over the course of the next two periods, taking 52 shots overall. Only the work of Jack Doren, who had 46 saves, kept things reasonably close.
Ryan Eccles led the Cougars with two goals and two assists. Philip Zollo had a goal and three assists as Bryan O’Mara added one goal and two assists. Zach Delaney and Ryan Durand had the other goals.
The cost of this defeat only got greater when C-NS, and everyone else, learned of undefeated, state no. 1-ranked West Genesee’s stunning four-overtime, six-shootout round defeat to Baldwinsville in the other sectional semifinal at Shove Park.
While Syracuse and B’ville advanced to the title game, the Northstars concluded a 9-10-3 that started quick, had plenty of late struggles but also featured a playoff victory and plenty of reason to think that C-NS could contend again next winter.
