Cold weather kept the Skaneateles ice hockey team from having a full week of activity, as its scheduled trip to Ithaca last Tuesday night fell victim to the cold weather that closed many of the area’s schools.
By the time the state Division II no. 11-ranked Lakers went to the J.M. McDonald Sports Complex to face Cortland-Homer last Friday night, it had not played in a week. But that rust did not prevent a solid, gritty effort that resulted in a 2-1 victory over the Golden Eagles.
Neither side scored until the second period, where everything happened. Twice, passes from Patrick Major and Raymond Falso led to goals as Owen Kuhns and Josh Motyl got credit for those tallies, countering Danny Turck’s unassisted goal for Cortland-Homer.
And then the Lakers spent the entire third period protecting that slim one-goal margin, playing superb defense in front of goaltender Jarrett McDonald, who only had to make 16 saves all night.
This win left Skaneateles still tied for first in Division II’s American Conference with Auburn, each with 16 points, as the Maroons edged CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt by that same 2-1 margin on Friday at Onondaga Nation Arena to complete a regular-season sweep of the Brothers.
Two weeks remain in the regular season, and after Skaneateles (11-2-2) makes up the Ithaca game on Tuesday, it meets CBA/J-D next Friday at Nedrow, the prelude to the Feb. 5 rematch with Auburn, who burns to avenge blowing a two-goal lead in a 3-2 overtime defeat to the Lakers on Dec. 21.
