Players, coaches, fans and just about everyone else associated with the West Genesee and Syracuse ice hockey teams had waited nearly 11 months for these rivals to meet again.
Their last encounter, the 2019 Section III Division I championship game, quickly went into lore, a four-overtime classic won by the Cougars 3-2 on a goal by Ryan Eccles that ultimately propelled Syracuse to a first-ever state title.
Now the Cougars and Wildcats reunited at a jam-packed Shove Park in Camillus Wednesday night and, amid plenty of noise, hitting and intensity, went beyond regulation again, only to leave matters unsettled in a 1-1 tie.
Both teams had gone through uneven starts to their respective regular seasons, only to find good form in January. Syracuse had won five in a row, while WG had a five-game unbeaten streak, its lone blemish a 2-2 tie with Rome Free Academy.
Once again, they sat atop the sectional Division I standings, with the Cougars 7-0 in league play and the Wildcats 5-0-1, so if someone did win here, they would great improve their chances of an eventual top seed in the sectional playoffs.
Other than a couple of shots in the first 30 seconds, Syracuse was kept quiet in the first period, its task made more difficult when, on a power play 3:18 into the game, WG’s Jacob Kopek powered a shot from the point past Cougars goalie Evan Carter.
Much of the first two periods belonged to Kopek and his fellow Wildcat defenders. Anthony Felix, Ryan Considine and Patrick Quinn anchored a back line that limited Syracuse to six total shots, with everyone on WG’s roster willing to block Syracuse shots.
On both ends, the physical play was nonstop, with big hits issued by each team that sometimes spilled into scuffles and caused several penalties as large student sections on both sides roared with approval.
It was still 1-0 going into the third period, when the Cougars increased its pressure and pinned the Wildcats in its own end, taking 10 shots before earning a power play where, with 7:29 left in regulation, Stephan Matro ripped in a one-timer off feeds from Ryan Durand and Kaleb Benedict.
Having weathered the rest of the third period, WG found itself in overtime again and, mere seconds into the five-minute extra period, Kopek committed a slashing penalty.
The Wildcats managed to hold off Syracuse and, as he left the penalty box, Kopek broke in alone on the net with a chance to win it, but his close-up shot was smothered by Carter.
Durand had his own chance to win it with a minute left, only to have David Myers glove his point-blank attempt, and WG could not take advantage of its own last-second power play. Myers finished with 21 saves, one more than Carter’s total of 20 saves.
Syracuse returned to action two nights later, facing CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt at Onondaga Nation Arena, and remained in first place in the league by defeating the Brothers 4-2.
Matro put in two of the Cougar’s four goals and added an assist, the other goals going to Benedict and Cam Walsh, each of whom added assists. Durand, Zach Delaney, Colin Johnson and Nelson Jones also got assists.
