CENTRAL NEW YORK – Following its second-place finish in the Dec. 28-29 Cortland-Homer Holiday Tournament, the Cazenovia ice hockey team looked to climb the Division I standings in the early days of 2023.

Going to Meachem Rink Tuesday night, the Lakers met 1-7 Syracuse, but did so just as the Cougars’ best player, Jameson Bucktooth, returned to the lineup and helped his side prevail 5-4.

Cazenovia got single goals in each of the first two periods to match tallies by Bucktooth, and in the third the Lakers converted twice as Logan Hull earned his way to a hat trick.

Despite this, Bucktooth continued to hurt the Lakers, completing his own hat trick and adding two more goals to pull it out and overcome Tucker Ives’ 19 saves.

Jack Donlin amassed three assists, with Forrest Ives getting one goal and one assist. Single assists went to Jacob Grevelding and Shamus Newcomb.

Stepping out of league play again two nights later, Cazenovia went to Whitesboro, where in a wild, back-and-forth battle, the Lakers had another one-goal decision, but won it this time, edging the Warriors 6-5.

Cazenovia built a 3-1 advantage in the first period thanks to goals by Donlin, Newcomb and Braden Carnahan, whose tally was his first in a Lakers uniform.

When Hull scored on the power play in the second, the margin grew to 4-1, and all of it was needed since Whitesboro, led by Kaeden Wood and Santino Pedulla (two goals each), made a furious third-period charge.

But the Lakers held on, Hull tacking on a second goal and Forrest Ives also converting in the late stages. Nat Gale and Tyler Frederiksen joined Hull, Donlin and Ives in the assist column and Ezra Stahlberg made each of his 25 saves count.

Halfway through the regular season, Cazenovia is 5-5, and after a week to rest it travels next Friday to Lysander to take on Baldwinsville. Faceoff is at 7:20.