SYRACUSE – In its collective dreams, the Christian Brothers Academy/Jamesville-DeWitt ice hockey team would take the ice at Upstate Medical University Arena and take out the reigning state champions from Skaneateles to win the Section III Division II championship.
The reality proved quite different.
Demonstrating why it has become close to unstoppable in the local ranks, the Lakers displayed its skill, depth and energy in defeating the Brothers 8-1 in Monday night’s sectional final.
CBA/J-D arrived at this game with some reason to hope. It had played Skaneateles tough in a 4-2 decision back in January, and had just knocked off no. 2 seed New Hartford 2-1 in overtime in the semifinals Feb. 21 after two regular-season losses to the Spartans.
But the Lakers, aware that the only team to beat them this season, Pelham, lost in the Section I final to upstart Byram Hills the day before, wanted no part of the Brothers pulling off a similar surprise.
It took all of two minutes, and one power play, for Skaneateles to go in front for good, applying pressure until a series of quick passes set up Trevor Jensen on the doorstep to easily put one past Ben Lovell for his 14th goal of the season.
Five and a half minutes later it was 2-0, this time off a CBA/J-D turnover handed to Palmer, whose one-timer found the net. It made Palmer, with 10 goals, the eighth different player on the Skaneateles roster to reach double-digit goals this season.
Any hopes the Brothers may have harbored disappeared in a 15-second span early in the second period where strong passes setting up goals by Jack Torrey and Kaden Rutledge that doubled the margin to 4-0.
CBA/J-D pulled Lovell at that point in favor of Justin Buffum, but the Lakers kept pushing as Palmer added a second goal in the last minute of the period, making it 5-0 going to the third.
Luke Mizro converted on a power play early in the third period and Jack Marquardt converted, too, becoming Skaneateles’ sixth different goal-scorer of the night as Palmer got his second assist.
Jack Dement scored short-handed with 9:26 left to keep CBA/J-D from getting shut out but Mizro answered for the final Lakers goal of the night as it moved back to the state tournament.
Concluding its season at 13-9-1, the Brothers could at least take solace from the way it turned around after a 4-8 stretch in December and January, going unbeaten in seven straight games to reach the sectional final.
