SYRACUSE – Once more, the West Genesee ice hockey team has a Section III Division I championship to show for its efforts and, once more, it was attained at Baldwinsville’s expense.
Mostly, it was the Wildcats’ defense that was responsible for a 2-1 victory over the Bees Thursday night at Upstate Medical University Arena at the War Memorial.
Right up until the last seconds, when sophomore goaltender Luke Beck had to make his 11th save of the third period on Garrett Sutton’s point-blank attempt to tie it, the issue remained unsettled.
“We knew it was going to be a close one,” said senior defenseman Ryan Considine. “But we have a great team that works hard.”
Head coach Frank Colabufo said that defeating the Bees required every bit of his team’s energy.
“B’ville is a big, heavy team to face,” he said. “If you don’t play hard, you’ll get beat.”’
What was already a big game had added stakes and hype for several reasons. Part of it was the winter weather that forced a postponement of 72 hours, meaning that neither team had played for more than a week.
A bigger part of it, though, was that the winner of this game would be a heavy favorite two days later in the regional final against Section IV’s Ithaca, where a berth in the state “Frozen Four” would be on the line.
From a 5-4 loss it took to B’ville at Lysande on Jan. 31, the Wildcats learned that it had to take better care of the puck to limit the Bees’ opportunities.
“In this game, we just managed the puck better,” said Colabufo.
WG displayed aggression right from the opening face-off, nearly going in front at the 90-second mark as Owen Zoanetti’s shot clanged off the post.
This, along with a lot of physical play, left B’ville mostly in a defensive mode. And when the Bees couldn’t convert on a power play late in the first period, seconds later WG went in front on Will Schneid’s sharp shot from the right circle, assisted by Zoanetti and Considine.
Out-shot 10-7 in the opening period, the Bees were far more aggressive in the second, only to have Beck maintain the shutout. Then, late in the period, Kyle Evanchak made it 2-0 when, off a pass from Jonah Vormwold, he scored from nearly the same spot on the ice as Schneid did earlier.
Two minutes later, Keegan Lynch answered and got B’ville on the board, leaving the game in close quarters going to the third. Considine said the message from the coaches was “to play simple, hard and efficient.”
Beck had his own approach. “I thought, ‘don’t let the puck in, no matter what,’” he said.
So, with help from Considine, Jack Giannuzzi, Will Shields, Jesse Desena and Evan Zoanetti on defense, Beck was stellar in the final 17 minutes, running his total to 27 saves as the Bees’ pressure picked up.
“Luke was outstanding,” said Colabufo.
The final minute, in particular, was tense, with B’ville goalie Jon Schirmer pulled and the Wildcats required to take four face-offs in its own end. Beck said the key was “to just breathe and take one play at a time”.
When the clock hit zero, Beck and his WG teammates would celebrate adding yet another sectional title to its long and rich history.
And the regional title would follow on Saturday at Lansing when WG, after a slow start against Ithaca, was able to take over in the middle stages and earn a 3-0 victory over the Little Red.
Ithaca kept the game scoreless until early in the second period, when Considine scored off feeds from Jack Mellen and Liam Burns. Three minutes later, Evanchak made it 2-0 as Vormwald and David Petrus got assists.
Strong defense by the Little Red kept the game within reach until Schneid’s empty-net goal with 40 seconds assured yet another Wildcats trip to the state “Frozen Four”.
In next Saturday’s state semifinal at 4 p.m. at Buffalo’s HarborCenter, WG faces Pittsford, hoping to advance to the title game the following afternoon against Suffern (who beat the Wildcats in the 2022 state final and earlier this season) or Clarkstown.
