When high school sports halted 11 months ago, the Skaneateles boys ice hockey team was undefeated and two victories away from another state Division II championship.
Not getting a chance to defend the state title it won so impressively in 2019, the Lakers also nearly saw a whole season go away until the late-January decision by New York State officials to allow “high-risk” sports to start.
Six practices later, Skaneateles would open its season with three home games in as many nights, and would overall play its first seven contests in the familiar surroundings of Allyn Arena.
And it began last Wednesday night when the Lakers hosted Cortland-Homer, the same team it beat in last March’s sectional final at the War Memorial. This game proved tougher, but Skaneateles still prevailed 4-2.
A scoreless first period saw the Lakers take 11 shots to the Golden Eagles’ six, though one of Adam Casper’s stops came on a two-on-none Cortland-Homer breakaway.
Early in the second period, Chris Renaud broke the deadlock for Skaneateles, and then found the net again after Chris Yang put the Golden Eagles on the board.
Down 2-1, Cortland-Homer tied it again, Jed Brazo scoring, and it remained that away deep into the third period. With 6:20 left, Renaud fired home another goal to earn the hat trick and put the Lakers ahead for good.
Garrett Krieger added an empty-net tally in the final minute as he and Aidan McGowan both earned assists, with Charlie Major and Mike Blowers each getting two assists.
On Thursday, it was Oswego’s turn to test the Lakers, but it didn’t prove much of a test as a scoring blitz through the game’s early stages led to a 7-2 win over the Buccaneers.
Quickly, Skaneateles built a 3-0 first-period edge, then extended the margin to 7-0 by the second intermission and, what’s more, got those seven goals from seven different players.
Charlie Major led the way, earning four assists to go with his lone tally. Krieger got two assists, while Henry Major and Jacob French both had one goal and one assist, joined in the scoring column by Renaud, Cole Kennedy and Luke McGowan. Drew Henderson and Drew Jensen also picked up assists.
Skaneateles went for three in a row Friday against Fulton, and had no difficulty earning it, flourishing the most in the second period as it blanked the Red Raiders 5-0.
Only up 1-0 through one period, the Lakers took charge in the middle frame with three goals. By game’s end, Renaud and Henry Major had each converted twice, with Krieger piling up three assists to go with his lone tally. Charlie Major had two assists, with single assists credited to Henderson and Colin Morrissey.
Three more home games follow this week, Skaneateles welcoming Liverpool and Fayetteville-Manlius before a Friday showdown with the reigning two-time sectional Division I champion Syracuse Cougars.
