At approximately 2:18 p.m. Sunday afternoon at Utica Memorial Auditorium, the Skaneateles ice hockey team’s quest for a state Division II championship that dated back to 1989 officially ended.
Helmets, gloves and sticks flew all over the ice, players piled on each other and a large contingent that had traveled from Skaneateles roared at a celebration that was only getting underway.
Trailing by two goals in the second period of the state Division II final against Section VI champion Williamsville East, the Lakers rallied with three goals in a span of less than six minutes of the second period, and from there the Lakers dominated in all phases of the game and took out Williamsville East 5-2.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said senior captain Owen Kuhns. “We really deserved this, and everyone in Skaneateles deserved this, too.”
“There’s no way to put it into words,” said sophomore forward Raymond Falso, who had two goals and one assist in the final.
Head coach Mitch Major was the captain of that 1989 state title team, coached by Jake Lovier, who joined the current team during post-game awards ceremonies.
“It’s a little surreal,” said Major. “But these players make my job a piece of cake. You coach to enjoy this moment, to see these players so happy.”
At least Skaneateles had two state titles in its annals. Williamsville East had none, a fact it hoped to change after needing a goal late in regulation from Dylan Cicero to beat Lake Placid 3-2 in the state semifinal the day before.
Of course, the Lakers had taken out Section III rival CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt 4-3 in its state semifinal. And while it expended a lot of energy on that game, the adrenaline stemming from going after a long-elusive state championship easily masked any possible fatigue.
Early on, Skaneateles had a majority of the good scoring chances, but none of its six first-period shots got past Flames goaltender Max Battistoni.
Gradually, Williamsville East began to pick up its pressure, and that attack paid off with exactly one minute left in the period. Aaron Bengart and Matt Cohen had shots that Lakers goalie Bennett Morse could not gather in, allowing Alex Binfield to send an open rebound into the net.
So Skaneateles trailed 1-0 at the first intermission, just as it had the day before against CBA/J-D, only this time Williamsville East wasn’t piling up penalties to give the Lakers a pile of power-play opportunities, like the Brothers did.
But it took a second Flames goal, from Cicero at the 2:30 mark of the second period, to really ignite Skaneateles, though Kuhns said his team stayed calm amid the early trouble.
“We never get too high or too low,” he said. “We continued to pressure, and we were never nervous.”
Less than two minutes after Cicero’s goal, Raymond Falso, jumping on to the ice during a line change, took the puck from James Motyl and fired a shot from the right point past Battisoni.
Continuing to apply pressure, the Lakers forced the game’s first power play, where at the 6:05 mark Reggie Buell, situated in front of the net, took the rebound of Kuhns’ hard shot and, swinging the puck out of the air, batted it past Battastoni to tie it, 2-2.
“It was a big goal,” said Buell. “I just sold out, dove, got to the puck and put it in.”
Newly energized, the Lakers kept on swarming Will East’s net, and at the 9:27 mark, Kuhns, taking a pass from Matt Benson, fed it to the front of the net, where Falso one-timed home the go-ahead goal.
Falso was named the tournament MVP, a remarkable feat given that he had just returned from missing six weeks due to a broken collarbone. Major said his return may have proven the key to the Lakers’ ultimate triumph.
“He was that catalyst we needed down the stretch,” said Major.
All told, Skaneateles out-shot the Flames 16-4 in that pivotal second period, but with a one-goal lead it could not afford to get protective in the homestretch – and it didn’t, resuming its attack in the third period, which paid off.
With 10:25 left, Falso, off a feed from Devin Callahan, found Benson alone in front. Waiting a split-second, Benson beat Battistoni in the top right corner, and the Lakers had a two-goal cushion.
Fittingly, given the long connections of the Major family to Skaneateles hockey, it was fitting that Patrick Major sealed it with an empty-net goal with 56.8 seconds left.
Kuhns, Buell and goaltender Bennett Morse joined Falso as All-Tournament selections, but it was an entire team from Skaneateles that came home Sunday night with gold medals, a championship plaque – and a 26-year state title drought put away.
