Going by the calendar, 261 days passed between the Skaneateles boys ice hockey team’s appearance in the state Division II championship game at Buffalo’s HarborCenter and the start of the 2016-17 season.
And it wouldn’t be surprising to imagine that the Lakers’ players spent each of those 261 days remembering how close it came to nabbing back-to-back state titles, denied in overtime by Kenmore East last March after winning it all in March 2015.
At last, the off-season ended, and last Wednesday night at Allyn Arena, Skaneateles started again, bent on not getting stopped by anyone and only satisfied with a return to Buffalo next March to climb that last step to the top.
The Lakers’ season –opening opponent, Fulton, got a full taste of the Lakers’ wrath, the Red Raiders overwhelmed by a continual flurry of scoring plays that didn’t stop until the final horn sounded and Skaneateles had recorded a 13-3 victory.
Among the many players returning for head coach Mitch Major’s Lakers this winter is the top scoring line of Raymond Falso, Reggie Buell and Matt Benson. Combined, they would produce 20 points at Fulton’s expense.
Buell backed up his three-goal hat trick with five assists, while Falso delivered four goals and two assists and Benson matched that point total, but did it in reverse by scoring twice and adding four assists.
And they weren’t alone, either. Nate Squires also notched a pair of goals, with Patrick Major getting a goal and two assists and Dimitris Christou contributing a goal and three assists. Matt Leveroni and Adam Lupo got two assists apiece as Nick Rottger contributed an assist.
As part of a season-opening three-game homestand, Skaneateles would meet Victor on Friday night. The Section V Blue Devils had already beaten Baldwinsville 2-0 on Nov. 26 at Rochester Institute of Technology’s Gene Polisseni Center.
And Victor would nearly topple the Lakers, too, before a late comeback produced a thrilling 6-5 Skaneateles victory that ranked as one of the best games of the young season anywhere in the state.
All looked fine for the Lakers at the outset, Falso scoring 2:31 into the game. With the defense keeping Victor from establishing itself, Skaneateles extended its lead to 2-0 when Buell converted late in the first period.
But a breakaway goal early in the second got Victor on the board, and it was 2-2 less than a minute later on Andrew Crean’s goal before Patrick Major answered at the 3:11 mark. That Lakers lead didn’t last, either, as Crean tied it again and then, within 80 seconds, Sam Lambert’s goal on a rebound had the Blue Devils in front 4-3.
Half of the third period passed before Falso connected on a power-play goal for the game’s third tie at 4-4. Just 33 seconds later, Benson chipped one just past the goal line, and Skaneateles led, only to have Victor answer with 5:48 to play in regulation with Lambert’s breakaway goal.
Ultimately, the game got decided by a late penalty against the Blue Devils, which put the Lakers on the power play. Applying heavy pressure, Skaneateles earned the game-winner when Benson found the loose puck and fired it into the net.
Having escaped this instant classic, Skaneateles would host Oswego Tuesday night before its first road test of the season Friday at Onondaga Nation Arena against CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt.
