Author: Dylan McGlynn

SKANEATELES — The Adirondack United girls hockey team opened its inaugural season on Tuesday and made a statement, defeating defending state champions Skaneateles 2-1 in overtime on the road.

“I really wanted them to go out there and compete,” said United head coach Jeff Willis. “It’s a group where a lot of them have played very competitive games at a fairly high level, so they’re ready for that type of pressure. They handled it really well.”

The team is made up of a combination of players from Saratoga Springs, Glens Falls, South Glens Falls, Hudson Falls, Queensbury, and Corinth High Schools. As the only varsity girls hockey team in Section 2, the United squad is competing in Section 7 this year in addition to non-league contests against teams such as Skaneateles.

The Lakers scored first roughly halfway through the first period, with Kendra Garlock burying a feed from Scout Oudemool to give Skaneateles a 1-0 lead. 

“It was kind of interesting, they were relatively quiet in the locker room,” Willis said of the first intermission. “They’re intense, and they’re not used to losing.”

The United squad came out of the gates firing in the second period, and tied the game just four minutes into the middle frame on a goal from sophomore defenseman Jenna Amodio. Willis called the tying goal “a great individual effort.”

“She carried the puck through the neutral zone, kind of angled wide, cut underneath the defenseman and came across and tucked it in on the other side,” said Willis. “It was the tail end of a power play, but it was a real nice individual effort more than anything else.”

Tekla Fine-Lease picked up an assist on Amodio’s tally, the first goal in Adirondack United team history. The team outshot Skaneateles 16-2 in the second period, and Willis said he expected the strong response from the team.

“We went out there, and we really outplayed them in the second period, and we scored to tie it up,” Willis said. “They’ve been through this a little bit at the club level, so when they do things like that it’s not surprising to me at all.”

United goalie Ava Reynolds made 11 saves in the third period, while the Lakers’ Isabelle Wells stopped nine shots, sending the game to overtime. Willis said the team had built confidence after the strong second frame. 

“From that point forward, the nerves were out, we were kind of dictating play and doing the things that we really do well,” said Willis. “I think they felt really good about their chances in overtime. We continued to force play, and that’s kind of what happened.”

After junior forward Bayley Duffy forced a turnover in overtime, the puck found Amodio at the point, and her shot was redirected home by freshman Gianna Marcantonio, giving United a 2-1 win in overtime.

“We might as well have won the state title at that point,” Willis said of the ensuing celebration. “They all jumped the boards and went over to get Jenna, everybody thought Jenna had scored. They didn’t realize that (Marcantonio) had that little tip to the far side.”

And after opening the season with a win against the defending state champions, Willis said, “I’m sure that we’re not going to sneak up on anybody at this point.”

“I think that, despite the fact that we’re a new program, it kind of puts it out there that we’re going to compete at a state championship-caliber level,” said Willis. “We’re going to have to go out there, and every game we play, we’re going to have to battle to win.”

Wells made 27 saves for Skaneateles in the loss. Reynolds stopped 17 shots for Adirondack United, who will play their first-ever home game at 1 p.m. Saturday, hosting Section VII’s Beekmantown at the Glens Falls Rec Center.

“The first home game, girls are going to be excited,” Willis said. “I expect that there’s going to be a full house, and there’s not going to be much that I’m going to need to do to get the kids excited to play. They’re going to be ready.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Skidmore men’s hockey team is off to a fast start, winning four of their first five games, including a victory on Saturday over the then-#2 team in Division III. However, the Thoroughbreds are simply aiming “to just get better each day.”

Skidmore begins NEHC play this weekend, and head coach Rob Hutchison said the team is looking to take things day-by-day, noting that this year is “a new group.”

“A lot of returning guys, but it’s a new group, a new year, and we don’t want to worry too much about things in the past, other than allowing them to maybe drive us or motivate us,” said Hutchison. “Really, our focus has solely been on getting better each day. Making sure guys are healthy, and moving forward and progressing, and as a group (that) we’re getting better and making progress.”

The Thoroughbreds’ most recent contest was a 4-3 victory over SUNY Geneseo, which was the #2 team in the USCHO Division III poll at the time. Hutchison said the win helped Skidmore gain “perspective on kind of where we’re at.”

“Geneseo’s had a really good program for years,” Hutchison said. “We knew it was going to be a tough one for us, and the guys rose to the challenge. They executed our gameplan, and we buried our chances.”

All four of the Thoroughbreds’ goals against Geneseo came on the powerplay, which Hutchison noted has been “finding some connection” early on in the season. Sophomore forward Zach Lindewirth scored the game-winning goal at 9:45 of the third period, and junior goaltender Tate Brandon made 36 saves in the win.

Skidmore is 4-1-0 in their first five games, winning four straight after dropping the season opener to Chatham University in overtime. Hutchison said the strong start has helped the team build confidence and find their identity.

“You can always improve, but I think that the most important thing is getting those wins early, building some confidence, learning how your team is going to win games and what the identity is,” said Hutchison. “For us, it’s been a productive two weeks in the opening going here, just kind of seeing how we’re going to go about winning games.”

This weekend, Skidmore will open conference play with road contests against NEHC opponents New England College and 10th-ranked Norwich University. Hutchison said the weekend will be “a really good test.”

“We’re going to have to play good defensive hockey. Both teams have a lot of offensive threats. Both venues are challenging places to play for different reasons. Both are very good programs, well-coached teams,” Hutchison said. “We’re really just looking to execute a gameplan, stay focused on the things that allow for us to be successful, and then play good defensive hockey.”

The Thoroughbreds went all the way to the NEHC championship game last season, falling 5-3 against Babson College. Hutchison said, however, that the team is “trying to take this year as a new year.”

“We know what’s ahead of us with the 18 league games. Everybody’s good,” said Hutchison. “This weekend will be a really good test; we’re facing two really good opponents. It’s our first overnight road trip, which adds another element of adversity, which we love early on. But I think the focal point has been just kind of getting better each day and focusing on one opponent at a time.”

As Skidmore has progressed through the week, Hutchison said the team has been focused on avoiding complacency following a strong week that included three wins for the Thoroughbreds.

“You come off a nice win, a nice high of a 3-0 week and it culminates with a win over a top five team, and not coming in Monday with any sort of complacency,” Hutchison said. “Come into the Monday morning practice with an itch to get better and make progress throughout the week.

“So really, just keeping our scope narrow, and our focus on the day-to-day.”

Skidmore (4-1-0) plays at New England College (1-2-0) at 7 p.m. Friday, and at #10 Norwich (3-0-0) at 4 p.m. on Saturday.