In a rare meeting of two defending Section III champions, the Skaneateles ice hockey team sought to tear down a formidable fortress.
And though the Lakers gave it a great run, it still could not keep West Genesee from recording yet another shutout in a 1-0 decision last Tuesday night at Shove Park in Camillus.
WG, who lost last year’s state Division I final to Massena in triple overtime, had roared out to an 11-0 start, seven of those wins shutouts, including the last three in a row.
Skaneateles was bent on stopping these multiple streaks, and took a small step in that direction by playing the Wildcats to a 0-0 draw in the first period, an early indicator that any scoring chance would be pivotal.
The Lakers stayed stingy in the second period, with one exception. Off a feed from P.J. Hart, WG’s Adam King poked the puck past Skaneateles goalie Trevor Diamond into the net, and the Wildcats were in front.
From there, all the way to the end, every Laker attack met fierce resistance from Hart, Tim Bubnack, Ryan Michel and Nate Haliwell from the Wildcat defense. Skaneateles had just nine shots, all stopped by Evan Mazzoni, as Diamond earned 15 saves.
As the calendar turns to 2009, the Lakers meet Cortland/Homer Saturday night at Allyn Arena, the Eagles fresh off giving Fayetteville-Manlius its first defeat of the season, 4-2, on the same night Skaneateles fell to West Genesee.
