CAMILLUS – Two games into its season, the Christian Brothers Academy/Jamesville-DeWitt ice hockey team had not won yet.
But the Brothers nearly changed that tide in last Tuesday’s visit to Shove Park, where it pushed long-time powerhouse West Genesee to overtime before taking a 2-1 defeat.
The Wildcats had handled Oswego 6-0 in its opener the night before, and got the upper hand in this game when James Schneid scored late in the first period.
All through the second period and deep into the third, CBA/J-D kept it 1-0, its defense withstanding a series of attacks as Joe Salvador was working his way to 25 saves overall.
Then, with 6:52 left in regulation, the Brothers’ patience was rewarded, John Greenwood taking a pass from Kodi Dotterer and flicking the puck past WG goalie David Myers to tie it.
And it stayed 1-1 into OT, where the Wildcats were able to win it when eighth-grader William Schneid notched the game-winner with 3:39 to play.
With less than 24 hours to recuperate, CBA/J-D returned to State Fair Coliseum Wednesday to face Cicero-North Syracuse, and was able to get its first win of the season, topping the Northstars 6-2.
Leading a well-balanced attack, Greenwood had two goals and one assist, with Dotterer adding a goal and two assists.
Nate Christaldi chimed in with one goal and one assist as Garrett Morgan and Justin Thies both found the net, too. Finn Wheeler and Nate Vault each picked up a pair of assists, with goalie Ethan White turning back 22 of C-NS’s 24 shots.
Then the Brothers made it back-to-back wins on Saturday when it traveled to Crisafulli Rink to face Oswego and, dominating the third period, beat the Buccaneers by that same 6-2 margin.
It was 3-2 through two periods before CBA/J-D gained that control in the closing stages, led again by Dotterer and Greenwood, who each finished with two goals and two assists.
Wheeler also gained two assists as Bowler and Tanner Burns picked up the other goals. All told, the Brothers took 33 shots to the Bucs’ 15.
Before this, CBA/J-D had nearly pulled off a big comeback in its Feb. 13 game against the Syracuse Cougars, only to fall just short in a 3-2 defeat.
It was 0-0 when, in the second period, Luke Dwyer, Brady Hubbard and Nelson Jones netted goals to give the Cougars a 3-0 lead. Jameson Bucktooth earned a pair of assists.
That margin was needed, since Kodi Dotterer scored twice for CBA/J-D in the third period to cut the margin to one, with assists going to Wheeler and Bowler. But Syracuse held on despite Salvador’s 29 saves.
