ONONDAGA COUNTY – In what amounted to a mid-season breather, the Cicero-North Syracuse ice hockey team played just once in the span between its Jan. 12 win over Ithaca and next Tuesday’s trip to State Fair Coliseum to play Fayetteville-Manlius.
But that game was a big one, the Northstars on home ice trying to break the 10-game win streak of state Division I no. 11-ranked Baldwinsville Wednesday night.
For the most part, it was a fine effort by C-NS, but it lost 4-1 to the Bees, who made it 11 in a row with a quick start and another strong performance on the defensive side.
The Bees jumped out to a 2-0 advantage by the end of the first period, then absorbed Chase Mearon’s second-period tally, assisted by Kyle Debejian and Hayden Scott, and answered it to make it 3-1, adding an insurance goal in the third.
Four different B’ville players – Fernando Moreno, Brayden Penafeather-Stevenson, Nolan Burlingame and Brady Garcia – netted those four goals, with Jake Gipe, Garrett Sutton and Leo Vona joining Penafeather-Stevenson and Morenon in the assist column.
That it didn’t turn into more was due to Ethan Mackenzie’s fine work in the net, Mackenzie recording 45 saves. Bees goalie Jon Schrimer stopped 24 of C-NS’s 25 shots.
A night earlier, Liverpool hosted Syracuse at State Fair Coliseum and got another virtuoso performance in goal from James Welch, the Warriors dragging the Cougars to overtime before taking a 2-1 defeat.
For the night, Welch had 52 saves and blanked the Cougars from the first period until the OT game-winner. Nick Rayfield and Adam Frye got on the board for Syracuse. Jameson Bucktooth added an assist
Yet all Liverpool could manage was a first-period goal by Calen Brown, assisted by Andrew Gabor. The Warriors were held to just 12 shots overall.
Then, hosting Cazenovia two nights later, the Warriors took a 4-2 defeat, unable to get on the board until the third period after the Lakers had built a 4-0 advantage.
Evan Haskins and Erol Abadzic earned those goals, with assists going to Alex Kirkby, Dylan Ling, Cole Bradley and Reilly Bizgia.
Between them, Welch and Trevor Smith made 40 saves, with Cazenovia getting the jump as Logan Hull scored twice in the first and Jack Donlin got goals in each of the first two periods.
Liverpool has its own game against Baldwinsville next Wednesday in between C-NS going to State Fair Coliseum to face F-M and hosting Oswego.
