A season ago, the Skaneateles girls ice hockey team rode a winter-long hot streak all the way to the state championship game, where it shared the title with Potsdam after a double-overtime, 2-2 marathon at Clayton Recreation Park Arena.
Now the quest to repeat as state champions has started, with the Lakers putting together a strong effort in Saturday’s opener against Albany Academy at Austin Park Pavilion, prevailing by a score of 3-2.
By far, the biggest challenge for Skaneateles, on its defensive front, was replacing goaltender Amanda Lupo, whose 44 saves helped define that state title-game effort against Potsdam.
Maria McLean is now in the net, and she managed to stop 14 of the 16 Alabany Academy shots she faced in her season-opening effort, a game where neither side scored in the first period and the two sides exchanged goals in the second period.
Only in the third period did the Lakers move in front for good, doing so as MaryKate McHale (Marcellus) notched a pair of assists and three different players – Melissa Amory, Abbie Kuhns and Claire Michel (West Genesee) earned the three goals. Paige Postalwait and Grace Schnorr each had one assist.
With the opener behind them, Skaneateles got a week and a half to practice more before the season resumes Wednesday night against Ithaca, with a trip to the north to face St. Lawrence and Canton on tap for the weekend.
