CENTRAL NEW YORK – Just as in 2022, the fate of the Cazenovia ice hockey team, and its hopes of winning the Section III Division I championship, rested on taking down a long-established powerhouse on its own home ice.
Unlike a year ago, this took place in the quarterfinal round, not the semifinals, and instead of a trip north to face Baldwinsville, it was a ride to Shove Park to deal with defending sectional champion West Genesee on Thursday night.
And from the moment the puck dropped, the Lakers found itself reeling, as an all-out Wildcats attack did not let up until it had gone well past double digits and, by a 12-3 margin, ended Cazenovia’s season.
They had first played Dec. 14 at the SUNY-Morrisville IcePlex, where WG won 5-1. Here, that number was reached long before the two sides would shake hands at game’s end.
Will Schneid got WG on the board 5:20 into the first period and Cazenovia answered it with Logan Hull’s goal, but that would prove the high point as Jack Giannuzzi, Owen Zoanetti and Jack Mellen all converted late in the first for the Wildcats.
Even as Cazenovia converted twice more in the second period thanks to power-play tallies by Jack Donlin, the margin kept growing, Schneid adding two goals for a hat trick and Jared Jaeger hitting back-to-back goals, one of them short-handed.
Ryan Considine’s goal stretched it out to 9-3 going to the third period, and Cazenovia was kept off the board late as Schneid tacked on a fourth goal to go with his three assists, aided by goals from Liam Burns and Will Shields.
Forrest Ives, Shamus Newcomb and Bryson Weaver each got one assist, with Ezra Stahlberg and Tucker Ives combining to make 28 saves as the Lakers’ season ended with an 11-10-1 record.
All of this was set up by last Tuesday’s opening-round game at the IcePlex, where the Lakers battled its way to a 3-1 victory over Mohawk Valley.
Despite a 4-15 regular-season record, the Jugglers had only fallen 2-1 to Cazenovia when they faced off on this same ice 10 days earlier, and the playoff rematch was just as close most of the way.
MV goalie Noah Narolis stopped all 10 shots he faced in a scoreless first period, but Forrest Ives twice put shots past him in the second period, reaching the 100-point mark for his career in the process.
Luke Williams scored for the Magicians, so it was 2-1 going into the third, where it wasn’t until Hull, who assisted on one of Ives’ goals, scored that the Lakers got some breathing room.
Donlin picked up a pair of assists, with an effective Cazenovia defense limiting MV to 18 shots, 17 of which were stopped by Stahlberg. Narolis finished with 25 saves.
