Though it took a far longer and far more difficult path to this point, and would not be on home ice, the Skaneateles girls hockey team still found itself playing for another Section III championship.
It came down to the no. 3 seed Lakers defending its title against top seed Clinton Thursday night at Cicero Twin Rinks.
And while Sknaeateles finally broke a long shutout streak by the Warriors, it could not keep Clinton from breaking through for its first-ever sectional title, prevailing 4-1 to avenge losses to the Lakers in the 2018 and 2019 finals.
Just getting here, though, required Skaneateles to go on the road in last Tuesday night’s semifinal round and take out no. 2 seed Ithaca – which the Lakers did, defeating the Little Red 3-1.
During their regular-season meetings, Skaneateles had tied Ithaca 1-1 on Dec. 20 and then beat them 2-1 on Jan. 16, less than two weeks before the playoff encounter.
Here, the Lakers were more productive, with Adriana Barbuto getting one goal and one assist as Lizzy Sachar and Campbell Torrey also found the net.
Rebecca Cain and Rachelle Cain both picked up assists, too, and though Shea Baker scored for Ithaca, Evie Sheridan, accustomed to post-season pressure, turned everything else back, finishing with 19 saves.
In the other semifinal, Clinton blanked Oswego 2-0, setting up the title clash as the Warriors entered the night unbeaten in 11 straight games.
Skaneateles knew that pulling off this win would require a big turnaround from their two earlier encounters in January, where Clinton had twice shut out the Lakers by margins of 4-0 and 3-0.
Applying pressure from the outset, the Warriors got an early power play that Skanetaeles killed off thanks to a pair of Sheridan stops.
But at the eight-minute mark of the first period Mia Lopata won a face-off and passed it to Drew Kopek, who alone in front of the net beat Sheridan to put Clinton in front.
Far more important was Ella Greico tipping in Hailey Kwiatkowski’s shot from the right circle with 1:33 left in the period.
That, along with the Warriors killing off a five-on-three Lakers advantage early in the second period, proved a turning point, Clinton extending its margin to 3-0 when Lopata scored at the 10:01 mark.
It wasn’t until the Lakers’ fifth power play with 3:59 left in regulation that it finally got a goal against the Warriors, scored by Rebecca Cain off a feed from Torrey, but Greico sealed it with an empty-netter in the final minute.
Overall, Sheridan had 27 saves and was named a first-team All-League selection in goal, with Torrey earning second-team honors as Lopata was chosen as the league’s Player of the Year.
Skaneateles finished at 6-8-1, but with just one senior on its roster it should be poised for another championship run in 2020-21.
