For the second year in a row, the Skaneateles boys ice hockey team would have to pull off a tough road victory in order to make the state Division II “Frozen Four”, but like so many other times this winter, it delivered.
Against Section V champion Victor last Saturday night at Rochester Institute of Technology’s Gene Polisseni Center, the state no. 1-ranked Lakers waited until the second period, and then unleashed its main weapons on the Blue Devils in a decisive flurry that led to a 5-0 victory.
Skaneateles had seen Victor emerge as the Section V representative when it scored six goals in the third period to rally past Batavia Notre Dame 7-4 on that same RIT ice. The Lakers knew that the Blue Devils, with a home crowd playing on a familiar rink, would have confidence and momentum.
But Skaneateles still had the line of Raymond Falso, Reece Eddy and Reggie Buell, which had dazzled against three sectional playoff opponents (Whitesboro, Auburn and New Hartford), and was bent on doing so again.
Right away, the Lakers’ defense was tested by a Victor power play, but goaltender Bennett Morse made several key stops. Eventually, Morse had nine saves in a period that remained 0-0 despite Skaneateles getting six shots and a man advantage of its own, without success.
Then they changed ends for the second period. And it took just two minutes, 13 seconds for Falso to find open ice at the left circle and unleash a one-timer into the net, giving the Lakers a 1-0 lead.
Less than three minutes later, the Lakers were attacking again, the puck again moved around to the left circle – and again, Falso was waiting to deliver another hard shot into the net to double the Skaneateles margin.
Victor did not even take a shot until past the 10-minute mark and were out-shot 15-4 overall in that period. Not wanting to get left out of the fun, Eddy earned a big goal with 49.9 seconds left in the period, poking it in the net as Buell and Devin Callahan earned assists.
Even though the Lakers were in full command, it remembered the Victor comeback against Batavia-Notre Dame and did not let up in the third period. Matt Benson put in his team’s fourth goal three minutes into the frame when, unassisted, he hit a sharp-angle shot that found the top corner. Buell added a goal with 4:53 to play.
Victor did get plenty of opportunities, but the deficit was too great to overcome, and Callahan, Jacob Patalino and the rest of the Lakers’ defense frustrated the Blue Devils into a series of late penalties once the game was well out of reach.
Now it’s on to Buffalo, the new home of the state “Frozen Four” after a long tenure at Utica Memorial Auditorium. Teams will play in the brand-new HarborCenter, located next door to the NHL Sabres’ home areana at First Niagara Center.
Next Saturday afternoon at 2:45, Sknaeateles will face Pelham (Section I), the same team it knocked off in the regional round a year ago. The other semifinal pits Kenmore East (Section VI) against Lake Placid (Section VII), with the winners advancing to Sunday’s championship game at 3 p.m.
