With a chance to all but seal a home playoff game, the Solvay ice hockey team instead saw the contest open up again. Due to the Bearcats’ 3-1 loss to Skaneateles last Monday night at Allyn Arena, the margin between the two teams for second place in Division II West shrank to one point — Solvay with 19, the Lakers with 18. Having beaten Skaneateles 3-0 back on Dec. 9 at State Fair Coliseum, the Bearcats arrived with confidence for the rematch — but also found a Laker team that was slowly gaining late-season momentum. Neither side could break through until the second period, when Skaneateles got on the board to seize a 1-0 lead. And even though Josh Ginestro, off feeds from Tim Burgess and Ryan Chapman, scored in the third period, Skaneateles converted twice to stay in front, negating Ryan Bonk’s 15 saves. Three different Lakers — Dylan VanHoltz, Lex Johnson and Jake Bird — got their goals. With no time to fret about the loss, Solvay made a quick recovery, going to Onondaga Nation Arena Tuesday night and hurting CBA/J-D’s playoff chances with a 4-2 victory. As Solvay jumped out to a 3-0 lead through the first two periods, Ginestro took the lead role, exploiting the Brothers’ attempts to keep Burgess in check. By game’s end, Ginestro had a three-goal hat trick, with Mike Sniffen also scoring. Burgess still had two assists, as did Chapman, while Tom Missert also got an assist. Bonk had one of his best efforts of the season in the net, stopping 32 of the 34 shots he faced.