Editor’s Note: After the cancellation of the rest of the high school winter sports state tournaments, we’ll be periodically looking back at the top local teams and athletes from the 2019-20 season. This edition features the Skaneateles boys ice hockey team.
It nearly proved a perfect season for a program long used to greatness, but denied an opportunity to scale even greater heights.
The Skaneateles ice hockey team earned its fourth state championship in March 2019 at Buffalo’s Harborcenter, adding to the three state titles it had won in 1983, 1989 and 2015.
When that ended, anticipation for the 2019-20 campaign quickly started, for good reason. Most of the Lakers’ key players were returning, from front-line scorers to the goaltender, Adam Casper, who had held up so well during most of the 2019 post-season.
And it didn’t take long for Skaneateles to assert itself as the strongest team in Central New York.
Opening with a four-game homestand at Allyn Arena, the Lakers topped CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt and then Cortland-Homer in a rematch of the 2019 sectional final, those wins by a combined 12-2 margin.
Then there was back-to-back games on Dec. 3 and 5 against Division I powers Syracuse and West Genesee. Skaneateles shut both of them out, including a 2-0 decision over the Cougars, who were the 2019 state Division I champions.
By the time the first state rankings were released on Dec. 17, the Lakers were 5-0, and were placed atop the state poll, where it never left for the next three months.
It was on that same Dec. 17 that a long-time rivalry provided Skaneateles with its lone blemish of the winter. Auburn, despite getting out-shot 35-6, managed to tie the Lakers 1-1.
Three days later, Skaneateles recorded an impressive 3-1 win at Victor, the eventual Section V and regional Division I champions, and then the team took a two-week break.
When it resumed Jan. 3 and 4 at the Duke Schneider Memorial Tournament, the Lakers proved as dominant as ever, running over Pelham 8-2 and Baldwinsville 8-1 to take that event.
Three straight shutouts followed, over Clinton (2-0), Whitesboro (5-0) and Oswego (6-0). Following that, two games late in January illustrated just how good the Lakers were.
Fayetteville-Manlius led Skaneateles in the third period, but the Lakers took over late to pull it out 5-3. Even more telling was Skaneateles going to Casey Park and, against the same Auburn side that tied them in December, roaring to a 10-0 victory.
In order to make it through the regular season undefeated, Skaneateles still needed to hold off Clinton 3-2 and, in the Feb. 19 regular-season finale, required overtime to claim another 3-2 decision over Whitesboro.
The Section III playoffs did not have as much drama. After blanking Cortland-Homer 4-0, the Lakers went to the Syracuse War Memorial and, in the March 2 sectional final, netted three first-period goals on Whitesboro and never got caught in a 5-1 decision.
Once Skaneateles defeated Starpoint 6-1 in the March 7 regional final at Buffalo State College, it was ready to go after the state title before the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic stopped those plans.
Four of the top six scorers in the sectional Division II ranks wore blue and gold. Garrett Krieger (21 goals, 23 assists) finished just ahead of his linemates, Charlie Russell (15 goals, 27 assists) and Charlie Major (14 goals, 27 assists).
Cole Heintz also scored 21 goals this season to match Krieger, while Casper stopped 92 percent of the shots he faced.
