Unbeaten No. 1-ranked West Genesee heads to ice hockey semifinals after 4-1 win over Niagara Wheatfield
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Twice, Jon Lauer was at the end of the shift and skated for the gate on the West Genesee High School bench. Instead of a seat, he encountered a stop sign. A coach told Lauer to get back on the ice.
Lauer parked himself promptly in front of Niagara Wheatfield goalie Alex Kammerer. There, Lauer redirected two pucks into the net for goals, sparking West Genesee to a 4-1 victory over the Falcons in a Division I regional ice hockey championship game before an overflow crowd at Shove Park in Camillus.
The No. 1-ranked Wildcats improved to 24-0 and advance to the state semifinals at the Utica Auditorium where they’ll play Section 1 champion Suffern on Saturday at 10 p.m. The Wildcats defeated Suffern 3-2 on December 3.
Lauer is a 6-foot-4, 195-pound forward with scars on his chin and eyebrows from some of the battles he’s encountered in front of the goal. Teammate Erik Kurz said Lauer is not one West Genesee’s go-to player, but fits in well as a grinder.
“He gets the puck where it needs to be and he knows what to do with it,” Kurz said. “ He’s just a good player to have on the ice with you. He’s not afraid to get hit and he’s not afraid to hit people. He gets the puck to the net where it needs to be.”
“He gets better every day,” said West Genesee coach Frank Colabufo. “He just does what you tell him to do. And its paying off.”
With West Genesee nursing a 1-0 lead late in the second period, Lauer skated for the bench, only to be instructed to stay on the ice. Lauer headed for the crease where he saw his teammates hold the puck in the zone. Defenseman Robbie Michel took the puck out front, walked it to his left and threw a soft shot on net from the blue line. It deflected off of Jimmy Sauda toward Lauer, who got his stick on the puck and knocked it between the legs of Kammerer for a goal. The score came with 10.5 seconds left in the period and gave West Genesee a 2-0 lead.
“Any time you give up a goal in the last minute of the period, it hurts you,” said Wheatfield coach Rick Wrazin. “Our kids hung their heads for 10 seconds. When we got in the locker room, they straightened up and came back and played hard in the third.”
The Falcons played hard throughout the game. Their defense gave West Genesee fits. But they fought an uphill battle, especially with too many players spending too many minutes in the penalty box. Wrazin was unhappy with the penalty disparity and said some were good, smart hockey plays.
Perhaps the best hockey play of the game was turned in by the West Genesee first line in the third period and gave the Wildcats a 3-0 lead. Forward Shawn Lynch cycled the puck clockwise around the boards. Kurz skated in unguarded on the backdoor side. Lynch fed a perfect pass across the crease and Kurz one-timed into the net.
The same two players accounted for West Genesee’s first goal in the first period. With the puck, Lynch rode on the coattails of Kurz coming down the left side of the ice. He used Kurz as a screen, firing the puck between Kurz’ legs and picking the right side of the net for a goal.
“I knew he was going to put it in or I was going to get the rebound,” Kurz said. “It was a huge goal. They’re all big.”
Trailing 3-0 in the third, Wheatfield finally broke through with 11:51 left in the game when Nick Matos knocked home a rebound. At the time, it was just the 14th shot on goal for the Falcons, who encountered the same problem generating offense that everyone does against the Wildcats and their defense.
West Genesee tacked on its fourth goal with 3:37 left. Michel shot straight on from inside the blue line. Lauer, causing another traffic jam in front of the goal, redirected the puck in the air and into the net.
“That’s my game,” Lauer said. “I’m a big guy. I can get low and its hard to move me. I’m used to it. That’s how we play. Go to the net. That’s how most goals are scored.”
Oswego 3, Salmon River 1 – Cody Mariano scored a goal and added an assist and the Oswego defense shut down the Salmon River offense to win their Division II State Regional game Saturday night at the Crisafulli Rink at Oswego’s Fort Ontario.
The Bucs advance to the Division II semifinals in Utica where they’ll play Saranac Lake on Saturday at 5:45 p.m.
Zach Zerrahn of Oswego gave his team a 1-0 lead in the first. Josh Sova made it 2-0 in the second with an assist from Mariano. Salmon River scored with 33 seconds left in the second on a goal by Naylen Laffin. Mariano got the final goal – an empty netter – with 55 seconds left to seal the Oswego victory.
“We came out with a lot of energy and won a lot of the battles early on,” said Oswego coach Andy Rozak. “We were focused and took the play to them in the first period. That set the tone for the rest of the game.”
Staff writer Donnie Webb can be reached at 470-2149 or dwebb@syracuse.com
