NEDROW – In sports, they often talk about starting well and finishing well.
A clear exhibit of this mindset was on display Wednesday night at Onondaga Nation Arena, where the Christian Brothers Academy/Jamesville-DeWitt ice hockey team upended previously unbeaten Cortland-Homer 7-4.
Winners of five in a row and 7-1 overall, the Brothers halted the Golden Eagles’ seven-game win streak with a first-period scoring surge and then, after Cortland-Homer tied it, taking charge again with three unanswered goals in the final period.
Unfazed by Mitch Riter’s goal from an odd angle 27 seconds into the game, CBA/J-D tied it on James Stanton’s goal and went ahead for the first time when Joe Dotterer converted on the power play, all before the game was three minutes old.
Quinn Wimer got his turn answering Ryan Spalding’s goal late in the first period and Alex Binsack finished off a breakaway to make it 4-2.
Yet the game may have turned when Ben Lovell allowed a goal from Andrew Partigianoni on the power play with just 4.7 seconds left in the period. The Brothers pulled Lovell, replacing him with freshman Justin Buffum.
And though Buffum surrendered a tying goal to Riter 4:13 into the second period, he allowed nothing else for the game’s remaining 30-plus minutes, making 11 saves overall and giving CBA/J-D time to pick up its energy and wear Cortland-Homer down.
Just 90 seconds into the third period, a Golden Eagles turnover led to Ben Bristol-Murray firing home the goal that put the Brothers ahead for good, 5-4.
During a five-on-three power play, Dotterer put in his second goal with 8:25 left, and Finn Wheeler converted an empty-netter with less than two minutes to play.
Gavin Parks finished with two assists, matching Wimer and Wheeler. Will Sharlow and Gavin Dunford joined Bristol-Murray with single assists
Not wanting to have a letdown, CBA/J-D made the short trek to Meachem Rink Friday to face Syracuse, who had put together back-to-back wins earlier in the week after a 1-7 start without star forward Jameson Bucktooth.
Again, the Brothers demonstrated its growth, routing the Cougars 7-1 to hit the halfway point of the regular season at 9-1 and the win streak at seven.
A four-goal first period set the tone and CBA/J-D blanked the Cougars from there, getting great depth and balance from its attack as only Parks would score twice.
Wimer and Dotterer had one goal and one assist, with Binsack, Wheeler and Dunford also finding the net. Bristol-Murray got an assist, as did Stanton, Sharlow, Jack Dement and Charlie Letourneau.
What remained CBA/J-D’s lone blemish was its Dec. 8 defeat at Skaneateles – a game the Brothers have a chance to avenge when the Lakers visit Nedrow next Thursday night at 7 p.m. two days after a clash with Auburn.
