Less than 48 hours after emerging from a high-energy, high-effort battle with CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt that ended in a 3-3 tie, the Skaneaetles boys ice hockey team faced another tough task when it ventured to Casey Park for its first encounter with Auburn since last February’s heartbreaking defeat to the Maroons in the Section III Division II final.
Or at least it was supposed to be tough.
The Lakers didn’t just get payback against Auburn. In smashing its way to an 8-1 victory, Skaneateles reminded everyone, friends and foes alike, what it could do when it put together a first-rate all-around effort, regardless of the opponent or circumstances.
Every perceived advantage went with Auburn. It had two days of rest following a 5-3 win over Whitesboro last Tuesday, it didn’t have to go overtime in that game and it was playing on home ice.
So the Lakers had the excuses lined up, and when the Maroons’ Brian Franceschelli scored off a feed from Casey Komanecky in the game’s opening minute, Skaneateles trailed 1-0.
Yet that proved to be lone blemish of the evening. From then on, the game turned into a continual Lakers attack, with forwards Patrick Major and Reggie Buell at the forefront.
It was Buell’s goal near the end of the first period that broke a 1-1 tie and pushed the Lakers in front for good. That momentum carried over into the second period, where Skaneateles tacked on two more goals and, in a decisive blow, struck again to make it 5-1 with just half a second showing on the clock before intermission.
Comfortably in front, the Lakers pulled goaltender Kyle Oschner, who only had to make seven saves all night. Jarrett McDonald played the rest of the way and stopped all four shots he faced, but the fun continued on the other end, too.
Major, in particular, picked a good night to set a career mark for points, pouring in three goals for the hat trick and contributing four assists. Often, Major’s passes went to Buell, who also found the net three times for his own hat trick.
Owen Kuhns had a big night, too, earning the other two goals and also earning a pair of assists. Devin Callahan chipped in with two assists, while single assists went to Buell, Reece Eddy, Ray Falso, Ben Russell, Jacob Patalino and James Motyl.
After such a superb effort, perhaps the last thing the 5-0-1 Lakers wanted was to take a two-week break. But that’s what it will do, resting and practicing until it hosts the Duke Schneider Memorial Tournament on Jan. 2-3, meeting Wililamsville South in the opening round as Potsdam and Pelham round out the field.
