CENTRAL NEW YORK – In recent years, the ice hockey rivalry between West Genesee and Syracuse has only grown in stature, with the Cougars claiming back-to-back Section III Division I titles and a state championship at the Wildcats’ expense.
Now, with the return of sectional play just a couple of weeks away, these two sides have their lone regular-season encounter next Tuesday night at Meachem Rink, the winner gaining the inside track to the all-important top playoff seed.
Neither side would struggle in the lead-up to the game, with state no. 4-ranked WG dominating Rome Free Academy and Ithaca on back-to-back nights as state no. 8-ranked Syracuse handled Mohawk Valley.
At Shove Park Tuesday night, the Wildcats, getting a career performance from Jeremy Keyes, quickly put RFA behind them with five goals in the opening period and built that margin to 9-1 by the end of the second.
The eventual 10-1 victory included Keyes netting four goals and adding three assists, with Ryan Stratton and Ryan Kemp also gaining three assists.
Will Schneid, Jared Jaeger, Liam Burns, Kyle Evanchak, Jack Mellen and David Petrus had one goal apiece, with Joe Snyder, Patrick Quinn, Jeb Kopek, Michael Hard and Jesse Desena earning single assists.
Hosting Ithaca one night later, it was much the same, only the margin wasn’t as lopsided even as the Wildcats ripped past the Little Red 8-0.
Much of it was built in the first two periods, WG amassing a 7-0 lead as 12 different players had at least one point, led by Stratton’s goal and three assists.
Schneid and Burns both scored twice and got one assist. Jaeger and Ryan Considine matched each other with one goal and one assist as Snyder got the other goal. Evanchak had two assists and single assists went to Quinn, Hard, David Petrus and Jack Gianuzzi.
Meanwhile, at Kennedy Arena Tuesday Syracuse methodically put away Mohawk Valley 10-0, scoring twice in the opening period and then really firing up with six goals in the second period.
Jameson Bucktooth again had a hat trick, finishing with three goals and one assist, while Colin Johnson stepped up, scoring twice and getting three assists.
Not far behind, Mike Madigan had two goals and two assists. Brady Hubbard got one goal and one assist as Nick Rayfield added a goal, Tommy Rioux had two assists and Jon Massaro a single assist.
Far from all this, Skaneateles had cruised in every game since absorbing its lone defeat to Pelham on Jan. 7, but that changed at New Hartford Wednesday as the Lakers held off the Spartans by a familiar score of 2-1.
These same teams had met Dec. 21 at Allyn Arena and New Hartford was tough in that game, too, as Skaneateles took it by the exact same 2-1 margin that would recur here.
Paitently, the Lakers built a 2-0 margin through two periods as Garrett Krieger and Henry Major assisted on both of the goals, one by Luke Renaud, the other by Jack Torrey.
Derek Joy’s 27 saves kept the Spartans within range, and Garrett Eisenhut scored in the third period to cut the margin to one before the Lakers held on, Chad Lowe stopping 19 of the 20 New Hartford shots he faced.
By contrast, Friday’s 10-0 romp over Clinton was a tension-breaker, Skaneateles netting six goals in the first period alone to quickly put away the Warriors.
Krieger and Renaud both had three-goal hat tricks, with Krieger earning four assists and Renaud three assists. Major scored twice as he and Torrey both amassed four assists, Torrey joining Aidan McGowan earning single goals as Andrew Falkenberg added an assist.
