All winter long, and even though it held the top spot in the state Division II rankings, the Skaneateles boys ice hockey flourished in the role of hungry challenger, bent on reclaiming the Section III crown after surrendering it a season ago
On Monday night at the Onondaga County War Memorial, the Lakers completed that part of its mission, scoring three times in less than three minutes early in the first period and never getting caught as it defeated Cortland-Homer 4-1.
That early burst – goals by Bauer Morrissey, Ryan Gick and Charlie Major – allowed the Lakers to dictate the game’s terms the rest of the way, as it took 37 shots to the Golden Eagles’ 17.
“It got us going,” said senior captain Lance Lynn. “We got confidence from those goals and fed off it the rest of the game.”
“We were certainly ready,” said head coach Mitch Major.
In order to win back the sectional title it earned in 2016 and 2017, the Lakers had to conquer a Cortland-Homer side playing its first sectional final in two decades.
These two sides had tied, 4-4, early in December, with the Lakers beating the Golden Eagles 4-2 in the Feb. 8 regular-season finale at Allyn Arena, foreshadowing what it would do later by netting a trio of third-period goals in that game, too.
To be certain, the Lakers were eager to grab a quick lead to calm any possible championship-game nerves. Yet even in its most optimistic scenario, Skaneateles could not have imagined just how well it would start.
It only took two minutes, 25 seconds for Morrissey to drift into the Cortland-Homer end and fire an accurate wrist shot from the right circle past Golden-Eagles goalie Brandon Ludwig.
And it required just 77 seconds for the lead to double to 2-0, this time with Gick breaking free on the right side, firing a low shot that Ludwig seemed to stop – but the puck inched past him and just over the goal line.
Before Cortland-Homer could regroup, that lead grew further at the 5:05 mark, Major finding the net with a rebound from the point when Ludwig couldn’t gather in Cam Lowe’s shot.
That 3-0 margin was all that the Lakers needed, as it turned out. And it took pressure off sophomore goalie Adam Casper.
With a choice of goaltenders, the Lakers went with Casper, who had started the second game with Cortland-Homer, over senior Chris Falso, who was in net for the sectional semifinal win over Auburn on Feb. 19.
Mitch Major said he simply wanted to switch things up, and it worked. All that Casper allowed was Trevor Jubran’s power-play goal in the first period.
Having established a 13-4 advantage in shots during that opening frame, Skaneateles maintained its attack in the second period, restoring its three-goal margin when Cole Heintz’s shot from the right boards got flicked in by Gick.
Even though the Lakers couldn’t convert on any of its three power-play chances in that period, the sheer amount of possession time kept the Golden Eagles from any sort of organized push.
Casper had his busiest stretch early in the third period, stopping seven straight Cortland-Homer shots. And once Skaneateles killed off a five-on-three Cortland-Homer power play in the waning minutes, it could start to smile at regaining its place atop the sectional small-school ranks.
So on Saturday night at Allyn Arena, the Lakers will face Section VI champion Grand Island in the regional final, the winner to advance to the March 9-10 state “Frozen Four” at Buffalo’s HarborCenter.
