Normally, the first weekend of January finds the spotlight planted on the Skaneateles boys ice hockey team and its Duke Schneider Invitational, especially with the host team sitting atop the state Division II rankings.
That wasn’t the case,, though, largely because of the milestone that Sknaeateles girls hockey star Megan Teachout reached on Friday night in her team’s 7-0 victory over Canton at the Community Center.
With her first goal of the night, Teachout, a senior, reached the 100-goal mark for her high school career, one that has included a state championship and a pair of Section III titles, too.
Not stopping there, Teachout tacked on two more goals, giving her a hat trick and running her season total to 20, while also picking up an assist.
As a whole, the Lakers’ effort was a strong one, given that it hadn’t played in more than two weeks since beating Alexandria Bay 4-1 on Dec. 19.
Improving its overall record to 8-1, Skaneateles scored three times in the first period and two more goals in each of the next two periods.
Sophia Burns scored twice, also earning an assist, with single goals going to Anne Rubel and Olivia Cox. Ioanna Christou dished out two assists, putting her season total to eight, as Lilly Marquardt, Caroline Corbett and Alexis Fassinger had one assist apiece.
In that same Community Center building Friday night, the Skaneateles boys ice hockey team returned from its own two-week break and., in the opening round of the Schneider Invitational, showed little rust in a 7-0 victory over Pelham (Section I).
Charlie Major got two goals, with Charlie Russell getting a goal and two assists. Jimmy Liberatore had a goal and assist as Bauer Morrissey, Luke Lynn and Owen Van Holtz also scored.
Garrett Krieger got two assists, with Drew Henderson, Cole Heintz and Ryan Gick notching single assists and goalie Adam Casper stopping all 18 shots he faced.
Baldwinsville blanked Williamsville South 8-0, setting up a final between the Bees and Skaneateles that Cam Lowe, held without a point against Pelham, took over to help the Lakers prevail 4-2.
Neither side did much until a power play late in the first period where Lowe, situated near the net, scored off a pass from Major, which B’ville answered with a power-play goal of its own by Nick Glamos in the last minute of the period.
Jack Henry, unable to put it into an open net minutes earlier, atoned by getting the lone goal of the second period on a shot from the right point.
Then Lowe returned and, 2:16 into the third period, hit his second goal, assisted by Russell and Krieger, with the Bees closing the gap to 3-2 when Alex Pompo put in a rebound four minutes later.
Clinging to that slim margin, the Lakers’ defense turned back a series of B’ville chances and, with 2:22 left, clinched it when, on a two-on-one break, Russell found Lowe, who waited for Tommy Blais to move right and then slid the puck past him for the hat trick.
