CENTRAL NEW YORK – In different manners ice hockey teams from Fayetteville-Manlius and Christian Brothers Academy/Jamesville-DeWitt got their 2024-25 seasons underway in the last week of November a few miles from each other.
For the Hornets, the season opener took them to Casey Park, where it faced Auburn and, breaking out in a big way in the second period, roared to a 7-0 victory over the Maroons.
F-M went 11-10 a season ago, but a 2-1 defeat to Baldwinsville in the opening round of the Section III Division I playoffs stuck with them and provided lots of motivation for its off-season work.
And after a scoreless opening period at Auburn, the Hornets broke through early in the second and didn’t let up until it had found the net five times in that frame.
Two more followed in the third period as Gavin Patnode led the charge, eventually producing a three-goal hat trick as Tyler Mayne notched three assists to go with a goal.
Nico Capriotti had a goal and two assists, with Will Sanzone and Dimitry Sergev also converting. Brian Tonkovich got two assists and single assists went to Drew Mayne, Connor McDonald and Jack Schalk.
This came a night after CBA/J-D got underway in the most difficult manner possible, facing two-time defending state Division II champion Skaneateles on the Lakers’ home ice at Allyn Arena.
The Brothers lost, 6-1, a margin closer than it when it lost 8-1 to that same Skaneateles squad in the 2024 sectional Division II final, but still convincing enough.
Building a 4-0 lead through two periods, the Lakers got three goals from Luke Mizro and two goals from Braedan Taggart to overcome 27 saves from Justin Buffum.
Not until the third period did CBA/J-D get on the board, Brody Novak netting the goal assisted by Ryan Hayden and Henry Boynton.
Three days later, the Brothers faced Syracuse at Meachem Rink, and the game would go to overtime before the Brothers were able to pull it out 3-2 over the Cougars.
In both the first and third periods, Nick Rayfield scored for Syracuse, but CBA/J-D matched them and then got the OT game-winner as Hayden, Novak and Griffin Filighera earned goals. Jack Dement added an assist and Buffum stopped 24 of the 26 shots he faced.
