Though it had to go to the last week of the regular season -and beyond – to sweat it out, the Cazenovia ice hockey team was able to get into the Section III Division I playoffs.
First, the Lakers had to win last Tuesday’s game against Mohawk Valley at Rome’s Kennedy Arena, where the Lakers had to wait until the third period to get control and ultimately beat the Raiders 4-2.
They went through a scoreless first period, Cazenovia taking 10 shots, but unable to get it in the net as Cy McCrink’s seven games kept it 0-0.
More pressure followed in the second period, the Lakers amassing 19 shots and getting on the board thanks to goals by Jake Owens and George Labinski.
Still, the game wasn’t decided. Mohawk Valley, down 2-1, tied it in the third, requiring Cazenovia to keep its poise and get something late in regulation – or overtime, if it was needed.
With four minutes left, it was Tyson Frederiksen putting in the go-ahead tally. Owens tacked on an empty-net goal in the final minute to ice the game.
Having finished at 3-8-1 in league competition, Cazenovia was tied for 10th with Watertown IHC. Since only 10 teams reached the playoffs, a play-in game between the Lakers and Cavaliers was required on Saturday to break the tie.
So the Lakers hosted the Cavaliers Saturday at Morrisville State IcePlex, where Cazenovia won 4-2 the first time they met on Jan. 14 – and it would win here, too, though it wouldn’t be easy.
IHC struck for a pair of goals in the first period and grabbed a 2-1 advantage. From there, though, the Lakers’ defense clamped down and McCrink didn’t allow anything else the rest of the afternoon.
During the second period, it was Cazenovia’s turn to convert twice and it moved in front. All through the final period, the Cavaliers tried to pull back even, but the Lakers held on and prevailed 3-2.
The reward for Cazenovia is a trip to Onondaga Nation Arena to meet no. 7 seed CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt in Tuesday’s opening round of the sectional tournament.
