Owen Kuhns, and every other returning member of the Skaneateles boys ice hockey team, carried with them the acute pain of how the 2012-13 season ended.
Armed with dreams of a Section III Division II title – and perhaps much more – the Lakers saw those dreams shattered on home ice at Allyn Arena in a dramatic triple-overtime defeat to CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt, who parlayed that win into an eventual state championship.
More than 10 months later, those two sides met again on that same Allyn Arena surface, and thanks to Kuhns’ timely production and heads-up play, Skaneateles got a small bit of payback, beating the Brothers 3-2.
With a 2-3-2 start, CBA/J-D had struggled early in the season, but it was just welcoming back goaltender Tim Decker from knee surgery that kept him out of those first seven games.
Skaneateles immediately tested him, going on the power play midway through the first period, and taking full advantage as Raymond Falso, off a feed from Kuhns, put home a goal at the 6:34 mark, giving the Lakers a 1-0 lead.
It stayed that way until the second period, when CBA/J-D’s attack heated up. After they took eight shots apiece in the opening frame, the Brothers spent large amounts of time in the Skaneateles end, taking 10 shots to the Lakers’ four.
Yet after Ryan Durkin put one past Kyle Oschner on a wraparound play for the tying goal at the 3:46 mark, Oschner turned everything else away, recording nine of his 24 saves and keeping it 1-1 going to the third period.
Still under pressure early in that frame, the Lakers surrendered that tie with 11:45 left when, off a rebound in front of the Skaneateles net, CBA/J-D’s Lucas Relkin converted.
The Brothers’ lead lasted all of 30 seconds – the amount of time it took for the Lakers to rush toward Decker, and then watch Kuhns deliver a perfect wrist shot past him to tie it again, 2-2. Devin Callahan and Patrick Major earned assists.
To that point, CBA/J-D had not gone on the power play – but it did so midway through the third period, only to have Skaneateles make a successful kill.
Then another Laker penalty, this one for tripping, gave the Brothers another man advantage with 3:54 left, which forced Skaneateles to play strong defense again.
Here, it didn’t take long for the Lakers to clear out the puck. A CBA/J-D player picked it up behind the net, but before it could get started again, Kuhns, rushing back, forced a steal and, in one motion, went out in front to beat Decker for a short-handed, go-ahead goal with 3:16 left.
Now in catch-up mode, the Brothers made one more attack, pulling Decker, but Skaneateles again turned it back and held on for a particularly satisfying victory.
