BUFFALO – Anticipation building, players and fans watching as the clock moves down toward zero – then the horn sounds, the bench empties, helmets and gloves go in the air, hugs on the ice and in the stands, and a few minutes later a state Division II ice hockey championship to bring home to Skaneateles.
Familiar as it might seem to anyone outside the Laker program, it remains a thrill, especially when it is achieved in a comprehensive manner so that it can be savored for a good long while before the game ends.
No ice hockey program in Central New York can claim the success that Skaneateles has enjoyed. And few, if any teams in state history can rival the sheer dominance the Lakers displayed while adding a sixth state title to that ledger.
It all culminated Sunday afternoon at Buffalo’s HarborCenter with a 5-1 victory over Section II’s Queensbury, yet another instance of Skaneateles using its depth, skill and determination to overwhelm anyone that stood in the way.
As in its 7-2 semifinal win over Batavia Notre Dame United, Skaneateles did not fly out of the gate in the title game, but kept the game scoreless until going in front 10:48 into the first period, Noah Testa netting just his third goal of the season assisted by Casey Morrissey and Andrew Falkenberg.
Queensbury, who beat New Paltz 4-2 in the other semifinal to get this far, pulled even with a power-play goal early in the second, but immediately the Lakers answered the Spartans with Andrew Gaglione’s second goal of the weekend, assisted by Jack Torrey. It put Skaneateles ahead for good.
A few minutes later, Cole Palmer made it 3-1 off a feed from Jack Marquardt, and the duo of Gaglione and Torrey returned to connect on a second goal to further increase the margin.
Every single game was a showcase for the sheer variety of contributors the Lakers counted on, and this was no different as a great pass from Trevor Jensen set up Braedan Taggart’s third-period goal that clinched yet another state crown.
The weekend began with Batavia Notre Dame United, the Section V champions whose players were new to the state “Frozen Four” experience. Yet BNDU didn’t play like a first-time entrant, keeping Skaneateles quiet through most of the first period and going up 1-0 on Ivan Milovidov’s goal five minutes into the game.
But the Lakers, staring at a rare deficit, tied it 1-1 with less than a minute remaining in the period when Taggart converted and, after patiently chipping away at BNDU’s defense through most of the second period, found its offensive rhythm again.
Goals less than two minutes apart by Gaglione and Luke Mizro established a 3-1 lead, and from there Skaneateles would double that margin by period’s end with Torrey and Palmer finding the net.
The Lakers got two more in the third period, ultimately having seven different goal-scorers as Morrissey and Sean Kerwick got the late tallies. Mizro finished with two assists as single assists went to Gaglione, Torrey, Kerwick, Jensen and Andrew Falkenberg.
Maybe the only thing that could have given any pause to Skaneateles about the state final was that Queensbury had beaten a New Paltz side that, in the Section I final, had upset Pelham, the only team to beat the Lakers this winter.
But any concerns proved fleeting. Skaneateles outscored its opponents a combined 159-21 this season, including a 38-6 margin over its five post-season foes, each of them good teams that just ran into a dynasty that shows no sign of receding anytime soon.
