Having moved to the top of the Division II West standings, the Skaneateles ice hockey team knew that hanging on to that lead would not be easy.
Sure enough, Corcoran pushed the Lakers in Tuesday night’s showdown at Allyn Arena, only to have the hosts go in front for good in the third period to beat the Cougars 6-4.
Corcoran won the league title a season ago, but had proven inconsistent during a 4-3 start this winter despite the high-scoring capability of Edmund Cathers and his teammates.
None of this seemed to show against Skaneateles. For two periods, the Cougars matched everything the Lakers could do, so it was 1-1 after one period and 3-3 going into the second intermission.
In fact, Corcoran would get more shots, 34 to the Lakers’ 25. But Trevor Diamond had a strong night in the net, recording 30 saves, and led by Packy Jones and Dan Tarolli, Skaneateles scored three times in the third period to pull ahead for good.
Jones earned his second three-goal hat trick of the season, benefiting from Tarolli’s passes as he earned three assists. John Bronk scored twice, while Dylan VanHoltz picked up one goal and one assist. Rory Callahan and Zach Augustine earned assists, too. Steve Young led Corcoran with a pair of goals.