It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

At Graziano’s Restaurant in Canastota, Sunday afternoon, the coaches of Section III hockey gathers to finalize their post-season playoff schedules. As of Monday morning, the 3-2-W was still not completely set. CBA trails Cortland Homer by 2 points with a game left on the schedule. If two teams tie for the fourth and final playoff spot, those two teams must meet on the ice in the aptly named “play in” game. If CBA beats Corcoran at Meacham this evening, the “play in” is on – CBA would play at Cortland Homer Tuesday night. Two things to note here, Corcoran is a tough hockey team. They’ll finish second in the west no matter what happens today. CBA beat Corcoran in their earlier meeting down on the Onondaga’s rink in Nedrow. Last note on this, it is a bad weather day here in Central New York. I can’t imagine what it will be like at Meacham about 6:30PM, well into the third period, with the outdoor temperature in the single digits and the wind still going. Meacham is Central New York’s ice box.

So, now we look at the first round.

Game #1 – New Hartford at Skaneateles, Friday (2/15) at Allyn Arena, 7:00PM.

If styles make fights, this one could be a good one. Both clubs have a hard skating style. The Lakers are lead by junior forward Keith Buehler. Buehler scored 25 goals last season and got 37 this year. Those are over all season stats as reported on the Section III hockey website. Another steady Laker performer is senior forward Tory Cole. The Skaneateles anchor is in net. Sophomore Alex Richichi posted a goals against under 1.50 for this past season. Skaneateles only league loss was at home against Solvay on the second day of 2008. A week later the Lakers got revenge against Solvay, in a big way, at the Fairgrounds. Of notables on their schedule, Skaneateles beat Clinton in late November, their only game with against a 3-2-E team. The Lakers lost to Division I Willie North, were edged out by McQuaid and last month, held on to tie highly ranked Queensbury up in Lake Placid. New Hartford is a real Jekyll and Hyde team. They have a great line, a very good line and a solid line. To go three lines in high school hockey without getting hurt is usually a recipe for success. The great line is centered by Mike Zalewski, the best sophomore in 3-2-E. On the sides of Zalewski are Jason Fitzgerald and Tom Fiorentino. These three have been skating together since they were Squirts. Lost in the luster of that top line is the center of line #2 – Andrew Kelleher. Kelleher is a good goal scorer turned great table setter. The junior is an unsung hero who digs the puck out of the corners and bangs with defensemen behind the nets. The Spartans questions marks, not to beat this one to death, is at the blue line. Aaron Canarelli is the rock on defense who can also put the puck in the net. Jake Silberlicht is the Spartans other top defenseman. After that, New Hartford’s defense gets sparse. There is also a concern in net. Dan Malta has been the main man in goal. He’s a fine goaltender, but has difficulty with shots from the 35 to 40 foot range…even without being screened. The number two goalie, Dylan Smith can be very steady when focused…but maintaining focus can be a problem. The Jekyll and Hyde aspect of the Spartans is hard to understand. Until their second to the last game, they hadn’t beaten one of the other Big Four teams…they went to JFK in Rome and knocked off RFA. But, came home and lost to Cazenovia. They followed that up by beating a Boo-less Clinton team at the Arena.

Game #2 – Solvay at Clinton, Friday (2/15) at Clinton Arena, 7:30PM.

The Warriors who wear Maroon are Boo-less. Chris Snyder, the top scorer in the 3-2-E, has mononucleosis. I had this as a kid and will tell you this is a tough one to come back from. Once you get over the initial virus you have to deal with the fatigue that follows. That’s a tough thing to play through, especially for a teenager…even if that teenager is Boo Snyder. But, Clinton is not crippled without Snyder. The Warriors still have Jordan Hobaica, the most dangerous man in 3-2-E. Hobaica plays like a great cross between the New Hartford and raw Clinton styles of hockey. Hobaica had 29 goals on the season. With Synder out, coach Dave Litz is forced to juggle his lines. With Boo, Clinton had a solid scoring that could pound you and a checking like that could pound you. The concern out of this is that two members of those lives have been banged up…Kyle Foley and David Roy. Cory Gogola, an unsung hero on this squad, took a pounding in the Whitesboro game. The Clinton concern is their D. Eddie Maxam and Dylan McDonough have emerged as a good defensive combo in support of Brian Benson and Chris Hughes. Part of their trouble comes from an enthusiasm that takes them out of position on occasion. Do that in the playoffs and your opponents are likely to make you pay. We all know of the horrible start that Clinton got off to, but they returned to form as one of the top ten teams in the state. Solvay is lead by junior forward Tim Burgess, who had a breakthrough year scoring 27 goals. Senior forward Neal Purcell had another solid season, scoring 19 goals. Solvay had a start very much like that of Clinton. The Bearcats started the year losing seven of their first ten. They did go 10-5-1 in 3-2-W play, but only three games above .500 over all. As previously noted, Solvay handed Skaneateles their only league loss. That was their biggest win of the year.

Game #3 – RFA at Corcoran, Friday (2/15), at Meacham, 7:00PM.

The Black Knights are a dangerous hockey team, but they draw an equally dangerous opponent in Corcoran. This year’s edition from RFA is a typical hard hitting Rome team. This senior laden team is lead by a young gun, freshman TJ Reilley, who had 16 goals on the season. Junior forward Dustin Frankey has showed the scoring touch he displayed on the youth hockey level. Seniors Mark Bartell and Bryan Endres had 13 goals each. But, they key to Rome’s success has been a hard defense, lead by Mike Barrett and Marco Dominic. They work in front of the one of the best goalies in the league, Rich Metzger. Corcoran is a team with good speed and size. They pounded lower level teams, but lost twice to Skaneateles and lost 8-5 to Whitesboro. James Cathers lead the Cougars with 27 goals. Chris Peterson had 18 goals and Derek Eccles had 16 goals for Corcoran, as well.

We’ll look at the Whitesboro match up tomorrow, when we know who Whitesboro will play. Also, tomorrow…the 3-2-E All Stars and Player of the Year.