What it ultimately came down to, as far as the Skaneateles boys ice hockey team was concerned, was that it was not going to have its season end again on home ice.
Still with the memory of its stunning defeat to New Hartford a year earlier fresh in its mind, the Lakers, helped by a hat trick from Jack Henry, held off a strong challenge from its Route 20 rival, Auburn, 4-3, in Tuesday night’s Section III Division II semifinal at Allyn Arena.
Auburn, the defending sectional champions, had edged Oswego 5-4 in the opening round on Feb. 8, while Skaneateles, with a first-round bye, was playing for the first time in 11 days, having already beaten Auburn twice during the regular season.
With the usual large crowd that accompanies every Lakers-Maroons showdown providing the energy, the start was physical and frantic, Skaneateles twice committing penalties, but able to kill off both Auburn power plays.
Then, 4:30 into the first period, Henry, free on the blue line, ripped a shot that Maroons goaltender Aaron Kowal never saw until the puck banged off the post and into the net.
Undaunted by this, Auburn tied it, 1-1, at the 10:01 mark when the Maroons’ all-time leading scorer, Johnny Malundruccolo, beat Chris Falso in the top corner.
Both teams had 12 shots in an action-packed opening period, but it was the Lakers going back in front 2-1 with 1:31 left in the frame, again with Henry converting on a long attempt from near the blue line.
There were fewer chances in the second period, and the lone goal came from Malandruccolo, who took a well-timed pass from Hunter Tubbert and found the net at the 7:08 mark.
They remained 2-2 for a while, the tension growing as the tie lingered deep into the third period as the Lakers were fortunate not to fall behind.
Whether it was Bauer Morrissey blocking a Malandruccolo shot, or Jack Chapman slipping a shot past Falso but the puck not reaching the goal line, or Austin Black hitting the crossbar, Auburn three times were within inches of a late lead, yet could not get it.
Instead, with eight minutes left, Garrett Krieger’s spinning slap shot found the cage, putting Skaneateles up 3-2, and on a power play with 3:43 left Henry put home his third goal of the night.
That proved even more important when, 23 seconds later, Malandruccolo completed his own hat trick on a Maroons power play. But as the time ticked down and Auburn pulled Kowal, Skaneateles was able to preserve its one-goal margin and advance.
Morrissey assisted on three of the Lakers’ four goals. Ryan Gick, Charlie Major and Charlie Russell had one assist apiece as Falso recorded 23 saves. Kowal, in defeat, stopped 36 of the 40 shots he faced.
The win puts Skaneateles back in the sectional title game, where it will face Cortland-Homer next Monday night at 5 p.m. at the Syracuse War Memorial.
Having routed Whitesboro 6-1 in the other semifinal game, the Golden Eagles are after its first-ever sectional championship, while the Lakers are chasing its third title in four years. The two sides tied 4-4 in December, while Skaneateles won the rematch 4-2 earlier this month.
