SKANEATELES – To cap its busiest and most important stretch of the season, the Skaneateles boys ice hockey team would travel south to try and avenge its Dec. 6 defeat to Cortland-Homer.
And that stretch included the Duke Schneider Tournament, where in Friday’s opening round the Lakers met Section I’s Pelham, the reigning state Division II champions, and claimed a 4-3 thriller over the Pelicans in overtime.
Neither team scored until the second period, when Skaneateles converted twice and Pelham twice answered. Less than a minute into the third, the Lakers took a 3-2 lead but, again, the Pelicans didn’t let it get away, tying it 3-3 on Reid Finster’s goal with 2:27 left in regulation.
They went to OT, where Skaneateles again made a push, forcing Pelham to take a penalty. On the power play with 4:01 left in the extra period, passes by Andrew Falkenburg and Henry Major set up Andrew Gaglione to net the game-winner.
It was Gaglione’s second goal of the night, joining Major and Carter Corbett, who also got assists. Chad Lowe turned away 30 of Pelham’s 33 shots as Alex Whitlock got two assists and single assists went to Torrey and Jack Marquardt.
This followed Baldwinsville’s 7-3 win over Williamsville South in the other half of the opening round and set up a final Saturday afternoon between the 8-2 Lakers and 9-1 Bees.
Perhaps worn out by the battle with the Pelicans, Skaneateles lost, 2-0, to the Bees, whose strong back line constantly gave the Lakers problems from the outset, rarely allowing consistent pressure.
All told, Skaneateles had just 16 shots, which B’ville goalie Nate Sotherden turned back, not even half of what the Bees did while putting pressure on Lowe.
Though Lowe was stingy with 33 saves, he did allow single tallies in the first and third periods, each of them assisted by Keegan Lynch as Braeden Penafeather-Stevenson and Fernando Moreno scored to put B’ville in front.
Before all this, the Lakers returned from a 12-day break last Tuesday against visiting Oswego and, eager to get going again, got a career-best performance from the Carter Corbett on the way to beating the Buccaneers 7-1.
Three goals in each of the first two periods quickly settled matters as Corbett had a hat trick by that point, ultimately converting four goals, most of them fed by Major, whose four assists put him past the 100-point mark for his career, or Torrey, who had three assists.
Gaglione scored twice and got a single assist. The other goal went to Tye Kennedy as Falkenburg, Marquardt, Mike Blowers, Sean Kerwick and Cole Palmer also earned assists.
Meanwhile, the Skaneateles girls ice hockey team found itself challenging Clinton last Wednesday night at Allyn Arena and took a tough 2-1 overtime defeat to the Warriors.
They were scoreless when, in the second period, Harvard-bound senior Scout Oudemool scored off feeds from Lily Kennedy and Kendra Garlock to put the Lakers in front.
It remained 1-0 deep into the third period, Isabelle Wells working her total to 22 saves, before Drew Kopek scored with less than five minutes left in regulation.
They went to OT, where the Warriors picked up a pressure and, with less than a minute left, Alexa Thompson put the game-winner past Wells, Lauren Rey and Kate Albrecht getting the assists.
Skaneateles rebounded Friday with a 4-2 win over Alexandria where it netted all of its goals in the first two periods.
Oudemool converted twice and added an assist, with Finley Hogan and Julia Quinn also converting. Cora Major picked up three assists as Kennedy, Garlock, Lilly Marquardt and Josie Rioux also had assists.
