If the West Genesee ice hockey team was going to have to endure a low point, it might as well take place early.
When the Wildcats went to Cicero Twin Rinks to face Fayetteville-Manlius last Tuesday night, it stood at 0-3, outscored a combined 13-2 by Skaneateles, Bethlehem and Fairport.
With an urgency rarely shown – or needed – due to decades of nearly unbroken success, WG put things together against the Hornets in all phases of the game and entered the win column with a 4-0 shutout.
All of the Wildcats’ goals were scored in the first two periods as Joe Comins scored first, with Ryan Washo the anchor as he notched a goal and assisted on two others.
James Schneid and Colin Sexton also found the net, and WG’s defense reverted to its usual form, containing F-M from start to finish as goaltender Chris Wells earned his first shutout for the Wildcats.
On Thursday night, WG looked for back-to-back wins as it visited Pittsford (Section V). It was a tight, low-scoring battle, but a third-period goal allowed the Wildcats to edge the Panthers 2-1.
WG trailed 1-0 through one period, but blanked Pittsford the rest of the way as Wells stopped 21 of the 22 shots he faced. Jack Miller and Andrew Schneid had the goals, with James Schneid, Billy Fisher and Dan Holtzhauer getting one assist apiece.
Meanwhile, the Syracuse Cougars continued its early-season tear, going to Morrisville State IcePlex last Tuesday night and getting to double digits on the scoreboard in a 10-0 victory over Cazenovia.
In all, the Cougars took 54 shots and allowed just eight to the Lakers, with eight different players earning goals, only Philip Zollo finding the net more than twice as he got three goals and one assist..
Steve Matro had one goal and three assists, with Ryan Eccles adding three assists and Andrew Corning getting a goal and two assists. Jack Grooms, Skariwate Papineau and Kaleb Benedict each had one goal and one assist, with Shemar Thomas also scoring. Kyle Lamson had two assists as single assists went to Hugh White and Nelson Jones.
Two nights later, at Meachem Rink, it was Syracuse’s turn to take on F-M, and just like West Genesee did, the Cougars put together a 4-0 victory over the Hornets.
Defensively, Syracuse held F-M to 17 shots, all stopped by Alex Moreno, while on the other end it was Zollo and Matro leading the way with two goals apiece to overcome Brandon Heyman’s 39 saves. Nate Frye had two assists and Corning got a single assist.
All of this sets up a big Wednesday game between the Cougars and Baldwinsville at Lysander, their first encounter since last season’s sectional final, and Syracuse also hosts Skaneateles Friday night.
West Genesee has nothing like these games in terms of profile or quality, but does want to maintain its momentum when it faces Watertown IHC at Shove Park Tuesday and goes to Ithaca two days later.
