SKANEATELES – Most of the players on the Skaneateles boys ice hockey team had gone through their entire varsity careers having never suffered a defeat – until Friday night, that is.
In a clash of the state’s top two-ranked Division II teams at Allyn Arena, Pelham, from Section I, jumped all over the Lakers in the first period and went on to prevail 5-3 in the opening round of the Duke Schneider Memorial Tournament.
In doing so, the Pelicans brought an end to the extraordinary 65-game unbeaten streak Skaneateles had built over three-plus years.
Not since Dec. 14, 2018, when the Syracuse Cougars beat Skaneateles 1-0 at Meachem Rink, had any Lakers side left the ice with fewer goals than the opposition.
The streak had endured through a 2019 state championship, a 22-0-1 season halted by COVID-19 in March 2020 just short of another state title and last winter’s 14-0-2 effort in front of only a handful of spectators.
This winter, Skaneateles had roared out to a 9-0 start, with only CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt and New Hartford getting close in 2-1 decisions in December. The Lakers had bashed Clinton 10-1 earlier in the week.
Pelham arrived with its no. 2 state ranking and a 5-2-2 record, though those losses and ties were mostly against Division I competition, and it wasted little time asserting control against the Lakers.
In fact, it took just 47 seconds for Griff Evans to put in a rebound goal and give the Pelicans the lead, which grew to 2-0 when Ben Rosenberg converted short-handed.
Even more important, in the long run, was Louie Marcellino’s power-play goal in the last minute of the first period, putting the Lakers in a 3-0 deficit it would spend the rest of the night trying to overcome.
Colin Morrissey got Skaneateles on the board early in the second period, but Pelham answered with a second short-handed goal, this one from Marcellino, who would also convert early in the third period to complete a hat trick.
Trailing 5-1, the Lakers battled back, Luke Renaud and Jack Torrey converting goals to cut the margin in half, but Pelham turned back everything else and secured a landmark win, overcoming Chad Lowe’s 35 saves as Garrett Krieger and Henry Major each had a pair of assists.
It took less than 24 hours for another win streak to start, Skaneateles shutting out Williamsville South 4-0 in the consolation game after the Billies lost 9-1 to Baldwinsville in the other half of the opening round.
Krieger scored twice and contributed an assist, with Major and Luke Renaud getting the other goals.Torrey got two assists as single assists went to Carter Corbett and Andrew Gaglione.
The tournament final had Pelham rally from a 2-0 third-period deficit to tie Baldwinsville, and it went to a shootout, where the state Division I no. 4-ranked Bees outlasted the Pelicans to claim the title.
Back in that 10-1 win over Clinton, Renaud had netted four goals, with Mike Blowers getting two goals and one assist. Corbett and Major both got a goal and two assists as Krieger, Sean Kerwick and Aidan McGowan had three assists apiece.
