Two straight seasons of getting beat in the Section III championship game gave the Skaneateles girls ice hockey team more than enough motivation for 2016-17, where no one would keep the Lakers from a title.
Clinton sure tried, though. During Saturday’s sectional final at Allyn Arena, the Warriors stayed within range until a third-period spurt of four unanswered goals delivered for Skaneateles a 5-0 victory, its 17th in a row.
“It was our time,” said forward Abby Kuhns, who scored her team’s first two goals. “We were ready. We knew we could come through.”
Senior captain Allison Weiss, named Section III Co-Player of the Year with Clinton goaltender Ryan Stripp, said the win offered a satisfying conclusion following those losses in the 2015 and 2016 sectional finals.
“I’m so happy right now,” said Weiss. “It was a perfect way to end a senior year.”
Twice, Skaneateles had met Clinton in the regular season, prevailing 4-1 at home on Jan. 4, and pulling through a 2-0 rematch at Clinton Arena on Jan. 27, eight days before the title game.
In each case, the Lakers saw plenty of Stripp, who accumulated a combined 63 saves in those first two games, and would prove even busier here.
Throughout the first period, especially the opening minutes, Skaneateles swarmed on Clinton’s defense. Every time, though, Stripp turned them away, ultimately making 13 saves and keeping it 0-0.
“We were playing well and sticking to the game plan,” said Lakers head coach Andy Rozak. “We just had to bury our chances.”
One chance did go in 48 seconds into the second period, courtesy of Kuhns, who pounced on Sophie Kush’s shot that Stripp could not gather in and fired the puck inside the top left corner of the net.
For the rest of the period, though, Clinton did a better job possessing the puck, putting its greatest pressure on the Lakers’ defense. But goalie Johna Halko and the rest of the back line ably turned back those rushes.
Still, it was 1-0 going into the second intermission, far from a safe lead, and Skaneateles knew it. Strategically, said Weiss, “we need to pass the puck with purpose, and not just throw it around.
Kush put it another way. “We needed to keep the shots going,” she said. “Eventually, they would go in.”
They would start to go in with 10:07 to play, with Kuhns again in the right position as, taking a pass from Weiss, she once more found the top left corner to double the Lakers’ lead to 2-0.
Finally with a cushion, Skaneateles would add to it 73 seconds later with Weiss stealing the puck deep in Clinton’s end and converting an unassisted goal. Kush would get her turn and score the final goal with 4:24 left.
Even those three goals didn’t reflect the Lakers’ complete domination of the third period. Skaneateles took 22 shots to Clinton’s two, and had an overall shot advantage of 46-11.
Now it’s on to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association regional championships that take place at SUNY-Canton’s Roos House. Skaneateles faces Section X champion Potsdam in Friday’s semifinal at 6 p.m., with the winner advancing to face the Section VI-Section VII survivor Saturday at 1 p.m.
“We have as good a chance as anyone,” said Rozak, and Kush agreed. “We feel pretty good going into it,” she said.
