Skaneateles — Back on Jan. 22, when the Skaneateles ice hockey team defeated Auburn in front of a packed crowd at Allyn Arena, Lakers head coach Mitch Major said he was fairly certain that these neighbors and rivals were not done with each other this season – and he was right.
Next Wednesday night, Skaneateles, the state’s top-ranked Division II team, again welcomes the Maroons, this time in the Section III semifinals, with a berth in next Sunday’s sectional title game at Utica Memorial Auditorium against New Hartford or Cazenovia on the line.
This was made possible by opening-round games on consecutive nights that took distinctive turns. On Thursday at Casey Park, Auburn trailed Clinton, 2-1, early in the third period before it scored twice in a seven-second span to ignite a five-goal spurt that produced a 6-2 victory for the Maroons.
By contrast, Skaneateles did not require any kind of rally when it met Whitesboro in its sectional Division II quarterfinal one night later. Instead, it got a quick goal, patiently waited to seize control and then did so while shutting out the Warriors 5-0.
No one on either side figured that it would get as lopsided as their first meeting Jan. 12 at Allyn Arena. Back then, Skaneateles flattened Whitesboro 10-1, but the Warriors, who finished fourth in the Division II National Conference with a 6-13-1 record, had proved quite competitive during the winter, even beating defending Division I champion Baldwinsville 3-2 earlier this month.
Aware of this, Skaneateles spent much of the first period camped out in Whitesboro’s end of the ice, taking nine shots to the Warriors’ one. But just one of them found the net, courtesy of Raymond Falso, who scored 2:02 into the game on a backhand shot that Whitesboro goalie Jacob Domagal could not stop.
continued — So it was still 1-0 going to the second period, when the Lakers proceeded to put things away. Three minutes into the frame, Matt Benson’s low shot found the net, and then Reggie Buell took over, netting back-to-back goals as he surpassed 100 career points.
Benson returned in the third period to net his second goal, and throughout the night Reece Eddy helped his linemates by recording three assists. Falso gained two assists as Sam Clymer and Devin Callahan notched single assists.
Defensively, the Lakers spent most of the night quickly clearing the puck out of its own end, offering plenty of protection to Bennett Morse, who only had to make 12 saves.
Auburn will figure to provide a tougher challenge. While Skaneateles did beat the Maroons a month ago, that came on the heels of a 3-2 defeat at Casey Park earlier that month, so both sides know it can get the upper hand, especially with much more at stake the third time around.
Prior to the game, Section III Division II All-Star selections were announced, and in a remarkable feat, Skaneateles claimed five of six spots on the American Conference first team, with Falso, Buell, Eddy, Callahan and Jacob Patalino honored.
Morse and fellow goalie Kyle Oschner were second-team selections behind CBA/J-D goalie Peyton Bowler, with Benson, Clymer and Matt Welch named to the Honorable Mention list.