NEDROW – In a span of less than two weeks, the Skaneateles girls ice hockey team went from a season spiraling downward toward disappointment to one that ended with the satisfaction of a Section III championship.
The Lakers capped its resurgence by defeating Oswego 4-2 Wednesday night at Onondaga Nation Arena in the sectional final, ultimately prevailing in large part due to its aggressive style that led to penalties – but also to a pair of decisive short-handed goals.
“This was a win for our seniors,” said forward Lily Kennedy, who scored twice. “Our team has a lot of character and we work very well together.”
Such a happy scene seemed unlikely back on Jan. 25. After a 7-0 start, Skaneateles had lost four of six games and, through two periods in a game at Allyn Arena, trailed defending sectional and state champion Clinton 3-0.
But helped by two goals from Kennedy and another from Taryn McDonald, the Lakers rallied to tie the Comets 3-3. A week later, in the sectional semifinals, it beat Clinton 5-2 keyed by Finley Hogan’s hat trick.
Now it faced an Oswego side it beat by 2-1 and 6-0 margins in the regular season and only had a 6-13 record. But the Buccaneers had stunned top seed Ithaca in the other semifinal and, in this title game, would give Skaneateles a serious challenge.
Still, the Lakers never trailed, partly thanks to Kennedy, who joined McDonald, Cora Major and Grace Marquardt on a penalty-killing unit that, just 3:03 into the game, gave Skaneateles the lead.
With the puck deep in Oswego’s end, Kennedy worked the boards from the right side to the left, circling the net. She said she had a choice of passing or shooting, but decided to take it and beat Bucs goalie Chelsea Storms.
Sophia Browning chimed in with a goal from the right point late in the first, and Skaneateles carried a 2-0 lead into the second period, where at the 2:28 mark Aliana DiBlasi, on another Bucs power play, put Oswego on the board.
That 2-1 margin did not last long. Less than two minutes later, Kennedy found herself charging the net from the left side and decided to try a shot over Storms’ shoulder, one she said she often whiffed on, but here was perfectly struck inside the top right corner of the net.
The Bucs picked up pressure late in the period, where goalie Brooke Coffey made a good portion of her 12 saves for the night. But Oswego was not discouraged, stayed patient and, early in the third period, cut it to 3-2 with Mischa Palmitesso’s breakaway goal.
Midway through the period, things got more tense when Oswego earned another power play. All that did, though, was clear the stage for Major’s signature moment.
As she had done many times during the game, Major cleared the puck out of her own end and skated up the middle just after a series of Bucs chances. With a choice to pass or take it herself, said Major, “I just took it up the middle and shot it.”
The puck found the net, Skaneateles’ two-goal margin was restored, and it finished the game off from there, with Marquardt picking up a pair of assists and Makayla Barron also getting an assist.
The Lakers have earned a chance at another state and regional championship next weekend at Utica’s Nexus Center, with the semifinals on Feb. 16 and the title game Feb. 17 at noon.
