Amid great ceremony, the Duke Schneider Arena was officially dedicated on Sunday, giving the Skaneateles girls ice hockey team what it has merited for a long time – namely, a modern facility that will serve as the squad’s new home rink.
Of course, the 2015-16 Lakers have already proven itself as quite a force without a true home game, having roared to a 6-0 start that included two more convincing victories last week.
Having blanked Plattsburgh (3-0 on Dec. 4) and routed Beekmantown (8-2 on Dec. 5) the previous weekend, the next Skaneateles road trip went to Oswego last Tuesday night, and more success was found during a 5-1 victory over the Buccaneers.
With a well-balanced attack, the Lakers built a 2-0 first-period lead and added two more goals in the second period. Though Stephanie Kubis put Oswego on the board during that second period, the Lakers still led, 4-1, and didn’t allow anything more the rest of the way.
Ioanna Christou scored twice, with Makie Kerr, Sophie Kush and Grace Schnorr each putting up a pair of assists. Carley Mills earned one goal and one assist as Megan Teachout and Katie Halko also found the net. Allison Weiss contributed an assist.
On Saturday afternoon, Skaneateles would face the brand-new Clinton Warriors team at Clinton Arena, but even though the opponent was unfamiliar, the result was not as the Lakers again proved dominant, defeating the Warriors 7-2.
Attacking at will, Skaneateles amassed 50 shots, an average of more than a shot per minute. What’s more, the goals were spread around, with six different Lakers finding the net by the time it was done.
Only Weiss scored twice, but it was Teachout that was tops in points, earning a goal and two assists. Schnorr also had two assists as Kuhns and Kush both produced one goal and one assist. Christou and Caroline McGuigan chimed in with goals, and Maria McLean stopped 12 of the 14 shots she faced.
Ironically, the first home game at Schneider Arena for Skaneateles is against Clinton on Dec. 22. Before that, though, Skaneateles goes to the capital district to play in the Albany Academy Tournament, whose field also includes Massena and Saranac.
