CENTRAL NEW YORK – Though it was just three games, the mere fact that the Cazenovia ice hockey team had won all of them sent a notice through the area Division I ranks that it would prove a difficult opponent to subdue.
That third straight win came last Dec. 10 at Fulton, where the Lakers battled past the Red Raiders 5-3, its margin built in the first period on goals by Jack Donlin and Josh Whaley.
Most of Cazenovia’s offense came in a third period where, protecting a 2-1 lead, it scored three times to ultimately pull away.
James LaFever earned two of those goals, with the other going to James Dapson. Forrest Ives, Jacob Owens and Will Penoyer each picked up two assists as Tucker Ives recorded 13 saves.
Cazenovia’s first “home” game would follow last Tuesday night at Colgate University against a Cicero-North Syracuse team sporting a 4-1 record and coming off a sweep of a weekend trip where it outscored Canton and Potsdam by a combined 13-2 margin.
None of this impressed the Lakers, who beat the Northstars 4-1 in another instance of a game that was quiet early but quite loud in the latter stages.
Only up 1-0 through two periods, Cazenovia got away in the final 15 minutes when Ives netted a pair of goals and Dan Scholl also found the net.
All the while, the Lakers’ defense remained stellar, goalie Cy McCrink working between the pipes and stopping 24 of the 25 C-NS shots he faced.
Now, though, Cazenovia would get its biggest test as, 24 hours after topping C-NS, as it ventured to Shove Park last Wednesday night to tackle West Genesee, who had also won four in a row, outscoring foes 32-5 in that stretch.
It started out quite well as, during the first period, Owens gave the Lakers a 1-0 lead with a goal assisted by Penoyer and Russell LaFever as McCrink turned back all of WG’s chances.
But in a two-minute span of the second period, the Wildcats went in front, Jeremy Keyes netting the tying goal and Will Schneid putting his side in front for good.
Early in the third period, Jack Gianuzzi doubled WG’s margin, and Schneid later added an empty-net tally.
So the Lakers had to absorb a 4-1 defeat despite McCrink’s 27 saves, as its own attack was unable to add to Owens’ early goal, held to just 15 shots overall by the Wildcats defense.
Cazenovia would look to bounce back at Clinton Friday beforenext Tuesday’s home game against Liverpool concluded pre-holiday competition.
