What had taken a full season to build for the newly-crowned Section III Division I ice hockey champions unraveled in just 24 seconds.
The Syracuse Cougars found itself tied with Niagara-Wheatfield in the second period of Saturday night’s regional final at Buffalo’s HarborCenter, on the same ice where the state “Frozen Four” takes place next weekend.
Just when it looked like the Cougars were in a position to earn that return trip to Buffalo, the Falcons struck twice in short order, and Syracuse never recovered, taking a 3-1 defeat.
Five days earlier, as Syracuse was topping Baldwinsville 4-2 in the sectional final at the War Memorial, Niagara-Wheatfield earned the Section VI crown by blanking reigning state champion Williamsville North 2-0.
Confident from that effort, the Falcons continued to play strong defense throughout this regional game, especially in the first 10 minutes, when neither side could put the puck in the net.
Then, at the 11:06 mark of the first period, Nick Peters scored, giving Niagara-Wheatfield a 1-0 lead. Syracuse absorbed this blow and, 3:38 into the second period, tied it on Bryan O’Mara’s goal, assisted by Ryan Eccles.
The Cougars were getting plenty of opportunities throughout the game, yet found Falcons goalie Peyton Siegmann difficult to solve as he amassed 22 saves.
Less than three minutes after O’Mara tied it, Peters returned, notching another go-ahead goal. Before Syracuse netminder Jack Klawitter could recover, the Falcons rushed again and, within 24 seconds, Mike Lotempio, off a feed from Peters, had doubled Niagara-Wheatfield’s margin.
Syracuse’s best chance to catch up came early in the third period, when a power play turned into a two-man advantage that the Falcons were able to kill off.
The Cougars’ historic season, which included its first sectional title as a Division I program, ended at 19-3-1. Klawitter and O’Mara are the most notable seniors on the roster, but plenty of returning talent in 2018-19 should mean a serious push at back-to-back sectional titles – and perhaps more.