CENTRAL NEW YORK – Three area state-ranked ice hockey teams all started to turn toward the latter stages of their respective regular seasons, all of them impressive in last week’s busy slate of games.
Skaneateles announced a big addition to its schedule when it picked up a game Feb. 10 against Division I power Baldwinsville, no. 5 in the state Division I rankings,who won the Duke Schneider Memorial Tournament over Pelham after the Pelicans put an end to the Lakers’ 65-game unbeaten streak.
More immediately, Skaneateles hosted CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt Tuesday and, remembering how close it was in a 2-1 win back in December, dominated the rematch, blanking the Brothers 7-0 on Senior Night.
It was 4-0 by the end of the first period, and never got closer, Garrett Krieger earning yet another hat trick as he finished with three goals and one assist, with Luke Renaud adding a goal and two assists.
Henry Major got one goal and one assist. Carter Corbett and Colin Morrissey also scored, with Jack Torrey getting two assists and single assists to Curran McGowan, Jack Buff and Sean Kerwick.
Then Skaneateles renewed its Route 20 rivalry with Auburn Friday night, doing all of its damage in the first period of a 3-0 shutout of the Maroons.
Renaud put the Lakers on the board in the opening period. Then Krieger converted and Torrey spread the margin to three, all in the first 15 minutes as Major assisted on each of the goals.
To its credit, the Maroons blanked Skaneateles in the last two periods, Jackson Siddall spectacular in the net as he recorded 48 saves. But Auburn managed just 10 shots against a tough Lakers defense.
West Genesee was coming off a Jan. 13 defeat to Victor and, eager to get back into winning form, the state Division I no. 4-ranked Wildcats did so with little trouble Tuesday in an 8-0 shutout of Mohawk Valley .
Ryan Stratton had a part in half the Wildcats’ scoring plays as he got three goals and one assist, while Jared Jaeger had four assists to go with his lone tally.
Joe Snyder and Ryan Considine both had one goal and one assist as Michael Hard and Jack Mellen also scored. Will Schneid had three assists and Jeremy Keyes contributed two assists.
Back at Shove Park Friday to face Ontario Bay, WG unloaded on the Storm, scoring seven times in the first period and six more the rest of the way as it roared to a 13-1 victory.
Liam Burns netted a three-goal hat trick, with Keyes scoring twice. Hard and Will Shields both had a goal and two assists, with Schneid, Cam Hovater and David Petrus each earning one goal and one assist as Stratton, Jaeger, Considine and Jack Gianuzzi combined for 10 assists.
Syracuse remained in lockstep with WG, undefeated in Division I league play as it returned to action last Monday and put away Cicero-North Syracuse 4-1.
They were still 0-0 when the Cougars netted three unanswered goals in the second period, Owen Mahar leading the way as he scored twice.
Jameson Bucktooth had one goal and one assist, with Brady Hubbard netting the other goal as Owen Etoll, Pat Sheridan and R.J. Kirkby had one assist apiece. Conor Rose stopped 20 of the 21 C-NS shots he faced.
This was the start of three games in a four-day span, Syracuse taking on Liverpool Tuesday at Meachem Rink and doubling its total from the C-NS game on the way to an 8-1 win over the Warriors.
Again, things were spread out well, Bucktooth getting two goals and two assists and Adam Frye also converting twice.
Two other players, Michael Devereaux and Kyle MacCaull, each notched their first varsity goals, joining Nick Rayfield and Vern Cooke with single tallies. Mahar, Etoll, Tommy Rioux and Colin Johnson each got two assists
Then, in Thursday’s game against Rome Free Academy, the Cougars again relied on Bucktooth and Mahar to get away from the Black Knights and prevail 7-3 to move to 11-1-1 overall.
Syracuse didn’t take the lead until the second period and didn’t get away until, up 3-2, it scored four times in the final period. All the while, Bucktooth amassed three goals and three assists, with Mahar getting two goals and four assists as Rioux also got four assists. Single goals went to Cooke and Kirkby.
