Maybe the one remaining concern for the Skaneateles boys ice hockey team as it works toward its post-season defense of its Section III Division II title is the notion that it does not treat every single opponent with total respect.
When it went to Morrisville State IcePlex last Tuesday to face Cazenovia, it may have been tempting to look past this latest Laker duel – and Skaneateles nearly did so, having to work right to the end for a 2-1 victory.
These same two sides had met Dec. 7 at Allyn Arena. Cazenovia lost that day 7-1, but back on home ice it contained Skaneateles in the first period, only trailing 1-0 going to intermission.
Then, in the second period, Steve LaFever’s unassisted goal produced a 1-1 tie. Meanwhile, forced to defend its own net, Cazenovia did so as Logan Palmer was on his way to 37 saves.
But Skaneateles still broke the tie in the third period as Bauer Morrissey netted one goal and assisted on the other, by Jack Henry. And it held on with enough key stops from its goalie, Chris Falso, who got 15 saves. Charlie Russell, Luke Lynn and Charlie Major each joined Morrissey in the assist column.
Having risen to no. 7 in the latest state Division II rankings, Skaneateles would host no. 10-ranked Whitesboro Friday night at Allyn Arena, looking to at least match the 4-2 win it produced over the Warriors a month earlier.
And it did so, though it took all kinds of defense and plenty of patience for the Lakers to withstand Whitesboro’s fierce effort and pull out a 2-0 decision.
For two periods of hockey, neither team could break through. Skaneateles would have more opportunities, but each of its shots got turned away or stopped by Warriors goalie Jacob Domagal, who matched the 37-save total Palmer had for Cazenovia.
Whitesboro also had plenty of big chances of its own, making Falso stop 25 shots to earn his shutout as Tyler Schneider and Matt Leveroni led the back line’s efforts.
That defense was rewarded in the third period when Morrissey pushed in the go-ahead goal, assisted by Russell and Owen Van Holtz. Morrissey added an empty-net tally in the final minute, and Skaneateles improved to 11-0 against Division II opponents this season.
One more big league test would come Thursday at Cortland-Homer after the Lakers met CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt at Onondaga Nation Arena earlier in the week.
