Within its own Division II ranks, the Skaneateles boys ice hockey team is a force, heavily favored for another Section III title, sitting at no. 2 in the state rankings and looking for a third consecutive trip to the state “Frozen Four” in Buffalo come early March.
But when the Lakers stepped up and took on a local Division I power, things did not go as well.
Syracuse, no. 5 in the state Division I rankings and carrying the same 13-1 record as Skaneateles, jumped all over the Lakers in last Tuesday’s game at Meachem Rink, the Cougars netting all of its goals in the first two periods and prevailing by a 7-2 margin.
From the outset, the Lakers’ defense found itself working as hard as it has all season, but it still couldn’t keep Syracuse from amassing a 4-1 lead. And that margin kept growing in the second period as, ultimately, Skaneateles had to use both of its goaltenders, Zach Wilhoit and Chris Falso, who combined for 35 saves.
All that the Lakers could manage was single goals by Matt Benson and Ryan Gick, each of them assisted by Raymond Falso, who was held without a goal after surpassing the 100-career-goal mark in his team’s 9-0 rout of Auburn Jan. 20 at Allyn Arena. Patrick Major also had an assist.
No single player paced Syracuse’s attack. Rather, five different players scored, including Ryan Eccles and Matt Goddard, each of whom found the net twice as Andrew Hodgens got one goal and two assists. Bryan O’Mara earned the other goal as Matt Eccles also scored. Matt Frye and Philip Zollo had two assists apiece.
Neither the game, nor the result, had any lingering effect, as Skaneateles ventured to Crisafuli Rink (also known as “The Fort”) Thursday night to face Oswego and rode the hot stick of Reggie Buell to a 9-2 victory over the Buccaneers.
Having rolled past Oswego 7-1 back on Dec. 6, Skaneateles knew it could go after the Bucs’ vulnerable defense, and in the first period of the rematch it roared out to a 4-0 lead, spending the rest of the night adding to that margin.
With Oswego swarming Raymond Falso, Buell flourished, scoring four times and tacking on three assists as Benson piled up four assists. Falso still managed one goal and one assist as Adam Lupo got two goals.
Dimitris Christo contributed a goal and two assists, while Matt Leveroni matched Falso’s one goal and one assist. Gick gained two assists as Patrick Moore, Tyler Schneider and Nick Rottger notched single assists.
Now at 14-2 on the season, Skaneateles welcomes CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt when it returns to Allyn Arena next Tuesday night, a prelude to next Friday’s trip to Clinton.
It was also announced this week that the Section III hockey championship games will be played Feb. 25 at the Onondaga County War Memorial, home ice of the Syracuse Crunch, for the first time since 2009. The Division I final is at 11 a.m., followed by the Division II title game at 1:30.
