When the Syracuse Cougars ice hockey team broke through and claimed the Section III Division I championship last February at the War Memorial, it did so at Baldwinsville’s expense.
In their first encounter since that sectional final, the Cougars went to Lysander Ice Arena Wednesday night and, poised and patient, waited until the third period before taking full control and beating the Bees 5-1.
Both sides came into the game undefeated – Syracuse at 5-0, B’ville at 4-0. Both had got there with well-balanced attacks and plenty of defense, with the state no. 5-ranked Cougars having outscored its five foes by a combined 29-5 margin.
And that’s what made the opening sequence so stunning. Just inside the Cougars’ blue line, B’ville Quinn Sweeney lofted a puck from the left side that eluded the grasp of Syracuse goalie Alex Moreno and found the net just 33 seconds into the game.
All that did, though, was energize the Cougars into an all-out attack, tying the game less than four minutes later on Nate Frye’s power-play goal, assisted by Ryan Eccles and Ryan Durand, and then taking the lead for good when Kaleb Benedict converted off a turnover midway through the first period.
Long stretches of the game were played in B’ville’s end, a consistent pressure from the Cougars that the Bees handled well, keeping it 2-1 with hard work from its back line and goalie Tommy Blais.
Through a scoreless second period, Moreno was mostly left alone. But with 5:45 left in the period, B’ville’s Cam Sweeney went from his own end, broke toward the net alone and pushed in a shot that Moreno managed to stop before it crossed the goal line.
The significance of that single save went beyond keeping the Bees from tying it. Renewing its attack early in the third period, Syracuse began to pull away as, with 13:13 left, Frye netted his second goal, assisted by Andrew Corning and Steve Matro.
Less than three minutes later, it was 4-1 on Corning’s goal as Eccles and Mack Etoll assisted. Benedict returned on breakaway to clinch it on a goal assisted by Kyle Lamson with 5:14 to play.
This was the league game between Syracuse and B’ville. They’ll play again in a non-league battle at Meachem Rink on Feb. 8 in the regular-season finale for both sides.
All this meant that West Genesee was overshadowed, at least for this week, but the Wildcats were just fine with letting Syracuse draw most of the attention.
That was because, after an 0-3 start, the Wildcats were now on a roll, getting its third consecutive victory last Tuesday at Shove Park by roaring past Watertown IHC 7-1.
It was a breakout of sorts for WG’s attack as it scored at least twice in every period and controlled the puck all game long, limiting IHC to just four direct shots while taking 47.
Jeremy Keyes, in particular, enjoyed the night, getting his first Wildcats hat trick and finishing with three goals and two assists as Joe McLaughlin had a goal and three assists.
James Schneid got a goal and two assists as Joe Comins and Liam Sexton also found the net. Jack Miller got two assists, with single assists going to Joe Artini, Ryan Washo and Jacob Farrell.
Going to Ithaca on Thursday night, WG continued to roll, offering up a textbook performance in defeating the Little Red 3-0.
Again, the Wildcats’ defense asserted itself, limiting Ithaca to 13 shots, all stopped by Chris Wells, and that was important since WG was kept off the board, too, in the first and third periods.
However, in the second period the Wildcats seized control with a trio of goals, one each by Sexton, Miller and Dan Holzhauer. Jimmy Bergan earned two assists as single assists went to Holzhauer and McLaughlin.