SYRACUSE - When the Solvay boys hockey team upset first-place Skaneateles 3-1 last week, no one was more stunned than the Lakers.

The Bearcats knew they were capable. They were afterall, in second place behind the Lakers in Section III, Division II West. Solvay also boasts the second best offense in the section, also behind their rivals. So when the Bearcats hosted the Lakers on Wednesday after a week off from competition, they took the ice as confident as any team could be.

That lasted about seven seconds.

Skaneateles leading scorer Keith Buehler got a goal inside on a pass from Tory Cole early in the first period and the Lakers never let up, winning 7-1 at the Coca-Cola Coliseum at the state fairgrounds.

“They came out shooting today,” said Solvay goalie Joe Poppe, a senior at Jordan-Elbridge. “They were ready and they wanted to prove that last week was a fluke. They were hungry for the win.”

Skaneateles didn't deny that.

“We learned that showing up for a game isn't good enough,” Lakers coach Mitch Major said. “Solvay is a good team and they came real hard last week. We thank them for getting us back on track. It's like I told (Solvay coach John Campbell) after the game. He said that we played hard and I told him that it was his fault when they beat us last week. They're a well-coached team and I knew tonight that we had to play up to our ability. We did that.”

In reversed roles, Cole and Buehler teamed up for the second score of the game at the 8:37 mark. Though he had three assists, Buehler would not find the net again after the first score of the game. Cole led the team with two scores and three assists.

“I see him as sort of a sniper,” Major said of Cole. “He just sort of hangs out and the next thing you know, he's scoring goals. He's shifty. He played to his strength tonight and he's one of those guys who just looks better and better every game.”

Sean Cooney scored on a combined pass from Patrick Emmer and Nick Geihe before Kaj Beck-Anderson stretched the score to 4-0 at the end of the first period.

Even with a big lead, the Lakers did not let up on Poppe or the Bearcats defense in the second period. They peppered Poppe with 18 shots - seven in the first five minutes of the period - but the Solvay co-captain had an answer for every one of them.

“I expected them to go all out with any shot they could possibly get - Skaneateles is a good team,” Poppe said. “Before the second period, we wanted to come out and try a little harder to prove that we could still play with them, but then the rest between the second and third, we got a little slow.”

Skaneateles rained down 15 more shots in the third frame, scoring on three of them. On a shot from Buehler, Beck-Anderson's goal came first at the 12:19 mark before Cole and Anthony Navaroli finished the job in the final minutes.

Solvay junior Josh Ginestro put the puck inside the pipes on a scrum in front of the net with 11:44 left in the game to avoid the shut out. Zach O'Mara was credited with an assist.

Lakers goalie Alex Richichi tallied 22 saves, with help from a defense that stifled Tim Burgess and Neal Purcell, who lead Solvay with a combined 57 points.

“My two seniors, Matt Wood and Eric Stevens did an excellent job back there,” Major said of the Lakers defensive effort. “I paired them together to go against Solvay's first line and they shut them down.”

On 45 Skaneateles shots, Poppe earned 38 saves to bring his season total to 449, which leads Section III.

“Joe is excellent,” Major said. “Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and tonight, we shot to places where we thought we could score on him. This week, (Skaneateles) showed that they can play as a team, which is something they didn't do last week. Joe is a great goalie and we were fortunate enough to score on a very good player.”

The week in between games may not have played out to Solvay's advantage, according to Poppe. The Lakers didn't have as much time off, defeating Central Square 11-0 on Friday.

“I think it hurt us a little bit,” Poppe said of the break in competition. “We had all that time and we were thinking about this game too much. When you think about a game too much, you tend to either lose focus or have too much focus. Tonight it was that we had too much focus - we thought we could just come in here and roll over them and it showed. They were ready to play and we weren't.”

The Lakers (7-1 division, 4-0 on the road, 9-3 overall) have scored 60 goals this season to lead all 25 Section III teams. They host the Skaneateles Tournament this weekend, beginning with Section V's McQuaid on Friday.

“I see this tournament as icing on the cake,” Major said. “We're going to play some great competition, being non-league games. We'll just go all out and do the best we can. You learn a lot from a loss and either way, we're going to learn a lot from playing these teams.”

Solvay (5-4 division, 8-8 overall) is in third place behind Corcoran in the division and looks to get back on track against Ontario Bay on Saturday. The two teams have split the season series at one game apiece, but the last time Ontario Bay visited The Coliseum, Solvay emerged with a 3-2 overtime victory that earned them the champions of the Kings of The Coliseum Tournament on Dec. 27.

“This will be a good rivalry game for us,” Poppe said. “We have get that win to get Solvay hockey back on track.”