SKANEATELES – In each of the two games it played in February, the combined Skaneateles/West Genesee ice hockey team roared to easy victories, setting the stage for its March run.
The Lakers were home Monday night to face Oswego, a team it had already beat 5-0 on Feb. 19. This one was a bit closer, but Sknaetaeles/WG still handled it, topping the Buccaneers 6-2.
This game did not involve a quick start, but the Lakers steadily worked its way to a 3-0 advantage through two periods, its defense ultimately getting 21 saves from goaltender Isabelle Wells.
And though Oswego did find the net twice in the third period on goals by Mia Fierro and Aliana DiBlasi, Skaneateles/WG still extended its margin while spreading its production around.
Scout Oudemool and Torrey Campbell both scored twice, with Oudemool adding an assist. Rebecca Cain earned one goal and one assist.
Emily Evans picked up the Lakers’ other goal, while Lizzy Sachar had two assists. Lilly Marquardt, Adriana Barbuto and Genevieve Morrow had one assist apiece.
A rematch with Oswego on Wednesday brought the same satisfactory result and the same winning margin, only here the Lakers handled the Bucs 5-1.
What was also different was that, in this game, neither team scored in the first period. Not until the second did Skaneateles/WG get control, scoring three times to negate a tally by Oswego’s Mischa Palmitesso.
While Wells recorded 17 saves, five different Lakers – Sachar, Barbuto, Oudemool, Evans and Rebecca Cain – earned the five goals, with Rachelle Cain serving as an anchor thanks to her three assists. Sachar and Marquardt also had assists.
Then came Thursday’s game against Ithaca, which proved tougher than the first encounter with the Little Red yet still finished 4-1 in the Lakers’ favor, largely due to Oudemool’s hat trick.
Having ripped Ithaca 9-1 when they first met eight days earlier, Skaneaeteles/WG found it a lot more stressful as the Little Red contained the Lakers for long stretches of the game.
A second-period tally meant Ithaca only trailed 2-1 going to the third period, but Skaneateles/WG wore the Little Red Down and secured a couple of insurance goals.
Throught it all, Oudemool kept coming up with timely scoring plays, ultimately netting three of the Lakers’ four goals.
Sachar had the other goal, with Barbuto picking up two assists. Single assists went to Evans, Campbell Torrey, Rachelle Cain and Molly Mahoney as Wells recorded 18 saves.
And it all leads to a climactic final week of this abbreviated 2021 season where, twice, the Lakers will challenge reigning state champion Clinton, whom it lost to in last winter’s Section III final.
