Another regular-season league title is in the secure grasp of the Skaneateles boys ice hockey team after it swept through the Division II American Conference.
Now the mission changes – namely, to go after a third consecutive Section III title, the quest starting this Friday at Allyn Arena, when the state no. 6-ranked Lakers face New Hartford in the sectional quarterfinals.
The last week of the regular season commenced last Tuesday at Onondaga Nation Arena, where Skaneateles used a big third period to get away from CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt and prevail 7-2.
These team had met Dec. 15 in Skaneateles, with the Lakers prevailing 7-4, and it never trailed here, though it was only 1-0 through one period as Owen Van Holtz netted the lone goal.
Then, as the second period got underway, the Lakers quickly made it 3-0 as Van Holtz scored again and Luke Lynn found the net, too. But goals by Adam Louise and Brackton Bowler kept CBA/J-D within range as, despite a tally from Jack Henry, Skaneateles only led 4-2 going to the final period.
But in those last 15 minutes, the Lakers’ pressure led to three unanswered goals, one each by Charlie Russell, Jimmy Liberatore and seventh-grader Charlie Major.
Already, Major had recorded a pair of assists, matching the totals of Lynn and Bauer Morrissey, while Ryan Gick got three assists. Single assists went to Van Holtz, Russell and Colin Weeks
Another big test, and possible post-season preview, would come Thursday at Cortland-Homer, who was in a neck-and-neck race with Auburn for the Division II National Conference regular-season title.
A win would give the Golden Eagles the outright league title and, more importantly, a chance to avoid Skaneateles until the sectional finals – but both things were squandered when the Lakers rallied in the third period to pull out a 4-4 tie.
For a long while, it looked like Skaneateles would suffer its first league defeat. Knowing the stakes, Cortland-Homer bolted out to a 3-1 lead by the end of the first period.
Through two periods, the Lakers trailed 4-2, having seen Trevor Jubran (two goals), Mike Turck (one goal, one assist) and Jake Prunier (two assists) lead a well-balanced Golden Eagles attack.
Just as it did with CBA/J-D, the Lakers would finish strong, going all-out in the final period and catching up, and while neither team converted in the five-minute OT period, the damage was rendered.
Major continued to assert himself, scoring twice as single goals went to Gick and Matt Leveroni. Van Holtz, Russell, Liberatore, Lynn and Tom Coyne joined Leveroni in the assist column as Falso recorded 17 saves.
When New Hartford stunned Auburn 2-1 with a last-second goal Friday night, it allowed Cortland-Homer, with 21 points, to claim the National Conference title by two points over the Maroons.
Thus, Skaneateles and Auburn are now in the same half of the sectional Division II playoff bracket, poised to meet in the semifinals if the Lakers beat New Hartford and the Maroons get past Oswego on Thursday night.
