Though the Section III girls ice hockey pool has expanded in recent years, the road to a championship still goes through Skaneateles.
Eager to get started again after dropping last year’s sectional final to Alexandria Bay, the Lakers opened Nov. 22 against visiting Salmon River and put together a fine all-around performance to beat the Shamrocks 6-1.
Any possible opening-night jitters quickly dissipated as Skaneateles roared out to a 3-0 lead by the end of the first period. It continued to control the flow of play the rest of the way, too, holding Salmon River to just 10 shots and a second-period goal.
Meanwhile, Megan Teachout and Allison Weiss led a well-balanced attack, each of them scoring twice and adding an assist. Abby Kuhns had one goal and one assist, with Katie Halko also finding the net. Sophia Kush and Sophia Burns got two assists apiece as Lauren Jones and Campbell Torrey notched single assists.
Idle until last Friday night, the Lakers were home again, this time facing Clinton, a team that had blitzed Ithaca 6-0 in its season opener two nights earlier.
All told, Skaneateles plays its first five games at home, welcoming Ithaca on Wednesday before back-to-back tilts with Saranac Lake on Friday and Saturday.
