Beekmantown's Collin Latinville (19) slides it under Lakers goalie Andres Statton (30) for the eagles goal. Saranac Lake/Lake Placid Lakers In a game that people were starting to wonder if it would ever get played after two separate weather delays move the game from its original Thursday night to Saturday night as the #1 Saranac Lake/Lake Placid Lakers would host the #4 Beekmantown Eagles. It would take till about halfway through the first period before we had our first goal when the Lakers would score on the shorthand from Dylan Amell to make it 1-0 Lakers. Although that wouldn't be the last we would hear Dylan Amell as he would score again with two minutes left in the period to give the Lakers a 2-0 lead after the first period. When the teams came back for the second period the Lakers wouldn't waste time extending there lead as they would score twice in the first three minutes from Rhett Darrah and Jon Kratts for a 4-0 lead. The Lakers would take firm control of the game with just under five minutes left in the second period on the Tyler Hinckley goal to make it 5-0 at the end of the second period. In the third period, the Eagles wouldn't give up as they would get on the board five minutes in when Dalton Kane would score to make it 5-1. The Lakers would answer back with five minutes left in the game on the Hugo Hobson powerplay goal for a 6-1 lead. The Eagles would answer right back 55 seconds later on a Colin Latinville breakaway goal to make it 6-2. Although 55 seconds after that the Lakers would regain their five-goal lead at 7-2 as Dylan Amell would get his hat trick goal on the night for the win. Although in a losing effort Riley Hansen for the Eagles would play outstanding as he would have 53 saves on the night as their season finishes with a 9-11-2 record. As for the Lakers, Anders Stanton would make 11 saves as the advance to the championship against the Saranac Chiefs with 14-6-1 on March 3rd. Gallery

Saranac Lake/Lake Placid Lakers Dylan Amell (7) uses the body to get the net past the Eagles defender as he scores as part of a hat trick night. Gallery

Saranac/Peru forward Zack O’Connell (12) tracks behind Northeastern Clinton’s Samuel Bulson (19) at mid-ice in a Section VII semifinal contest at the Rouses Point Civic Center. The crowd at the Rouses Point Civic Center was treated to plenty of bonus hockey Thursday night, as it took two overtime periods for Saranac to take down Northeastern Clinton by a final score of 5-4. The Chiefs, 6-2 winners against the same opposition one week earlier, found themselves in a hole early, after the Cougars took a 2-0 lead by the 4:21 mark off goals from Chase Letourneau and Lucas Bedard. It took less than a minute for Saranac to cut that deficit in half. Austin Carpenter tapped in a feed from linemate Hayden Buckley to get the visiting team on the board, scoring the third goal of the game at only the 5:04 mark of the first period. After that flurry of goals, the teams had to wait for the next goal, which didn’t come until 9:50 into the second period. The Cougars regained their two-point lead on a powerplay goal from Letourneau for the only tally of the second period. With the home team leading shots on goal 23-10 going into the final period of regulation, momentum began to shift in the latter half of the third. The Chiefs got themselves within reach at the 8:49 mark of the period when Nikalas Hamel sent home a slapshot from the high point to beat goaltender Ethan Garrand. Just 12 seconds after the goal, things looked grim against for Saranac, as starting defenseman Nolan Knight was sent to the box for roughing. However, it was the chiefs who would enjoy the fruits of the special-teams action. Breaking out of the defensive zone, Buckley made a good move to dodge a check at the blue line by Northeastern Clinton defenseman Zach Miller, creating a two-on-one in the offensive zone. Buckley made a nice cross-ice pass to Hamel, who sent home a shorthanded goal to tie the game with 4:39 left in regulation. With the score tied, Saranac continued to press offensively, and it paid off inside two minutes to go. Zack O’Connell carried the puck into the zone along the boards, cutting in toward goal once he’d beaten his man. He sent a wrist shot high to take the late lead. The Chiefs could have sealed victory late in regulation, but a long-range shot at the empty net in the final minute missed, crossing the line inches outside of the post. The Cougars made that miss count, as Jack Bulson sent a slapshot from the point past goaltender Erick Frechette to tie the game with 36 seconds on the clock. Fatigue began to show for both sides in the overtime period, and shots on net became much more scarce. Saranac’s coaching staff leaned heavily on its top line of O’Connell, Carpenter, and Buckley, who played shifts several minutes long. They kept the Cougars in their own end, though, and continued to press. While one overtime was not enough to settle the contest, it didn’t take long in the second extra period for the winning goal to come. The Chiefs crashed the net, with several players hunting for a rebound after a hard shot on Garrand’s goal, and O’Connell picked up the loose puck to end the game. Garrand made 27 saves in the lengthy game, while Frechette made 31 stops in net for the win. With the victory, Saranac advanced to Tuesday’s Section VII Championship against Saranac Lake/Lake Placid at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. Gallery

Saranac forward Hayden Buckley (26) attempts to skate around the Northeastern Clinton defenseman John Bulson (7) in a Section VII semifinal contest at the Rouses Point Civic Center. Gallery

Saranac Lake/Lake Placid Lakers Rhett Darrah (10) falls to a knee as he taking the shot in the slot with Beekmantown's Gordon King looking on. It would be the last night of the Champlain Valley Athletic Conference regular season and the Beekmantown Eagles would host the Saranac Lake/Lake Placid Lakers. The game would start off slow as the teams were feeling out each other and there would be no scoring in the first period. The Lakers would finally break through the ice 1:50 into the second period when Brendan Bullock would score to make it 1-0 Lakers. The Lakers wouldn't waste time extending the lead to 2-0 on the Hugo Hobson at the 3:58 mark of the second period. The Eagles would get right back in the game at 2-1 with a goal 33 seconds later when Dalton Kane would score. The Lakers would reclaim there two-goal lead at 3-1 when Benn Munn would score on his sliding shot. Then in the final minute of the second period, the Lakers would pull the lead to 4-1 on the Rhett Darrah goal. In the third period, the Eagles would not go down without a fight although they would only be able to score once on the Dalton Kane goal in the final minute for his second goal of the night. With that, the Lakers would get the 4-2 victory and take the number 1 seed in the upcoming playoffs as Andres Stanton would make 22 saves. In the losing effort, Riley Hansen would make 30 saves but the Eagles will have to play the Plattsburgh Hornets in the opening game of the playoffs with the winner getting the lakers in the semis. Gallery

Beekmantown's Dalton Kane (11) with the crunching hit along the end broads that drops Saranac Lake/Lake Placid's Benn Munn (20). Gallery

Plattsburgh's Amanda Vaughn (23) and Saranac Lake/Lake Placid's Faith Warner (6) battle for the loose puck along the broads. The #2 Plattsburgh Hornets would host the #3 Saranac/Lake Placid Lakers in the Upstate Girls Hockey League Section VII Semi-finals with the winner going to the sectional finals Monday night at SUNY Plattsburgh. The hometown Hornets would get the opening goal of the game from Ada Johnston at the 7:30 mark of the first. The game would stay there until the 11:15 mark of the second when the Hornets would score again from McKenzie Brown for the 2-0 lead. Then just over halfway through the third period, the Hornets would put the game out of reach on the Gillian Boule goal for the 3-0 lead and secure the win. In the winning effort, Ava Jullian would make 13 saves in the shutout effort. With the win the Plattsburgh Hornets advance to the section vii championships against the upset-minded #4 Malone Huskies. Gallery

Plattsburgh's Taylor Heywood (3) on the wrap around attempt on Saranac Lake/Lake Placid's Brooke Paries (1). Gallery

Beekmantown's Riley Hansen (1) with the stick save he sends to the corner as part of a 26 save night. The Beekmantown Eagles would host the Salmon River Shamrocks in nonconference NYSPHSAA action at the Ronald B Stafford Ice Arena. The would-be a matchup between two very evenly matched teams. It would take until the last minute of the first period when the Shamrocks would get the opening goal of the game from Thomas Cook. The game would stay there all the way till halfway through the third period when the Eagles would finally get the tying goal on an Alex Brenzia goal. The game would stay there and overtime would be forced and in the overtime at the 2:03 mark when the Shamrocks would get the winner from Thomas Cook and get the 2-1 victory. In the losing effort, Beekmantown's Riley Hansen would make 26 saves as they fall to 3-3 on the season and the Shamrocks go to 2-2 on the season. Next up for the Eagles will be a road game at Potsdam while the Shamrocks will host Norwood-Norfolk. Gallery

Dalton Kane (11) blast the shot on net over the outstretched stick going for the game winner. Gallery

Saranac Lake/Lake Placid Lakers Jon Kratts (8) with the hip check along the boards on Plattsburgh's Greyson Giroux (11). The Plattsburgh Hornets would host the Saranac Lake/Lake Placid Lakers in Champlain Valley Athletic Conference action. The Hornets would get the opening goal of the game at the 7:45 mark of the period from Ethan Kay. The goal would stand through the first period as the Hornets lead 1-0 after one. The Lakers would fight back and tie the game 2 minutes into the second period on a goal by Hunter Wilmot at 1-1. Then just 30 seconds later the Lakers would take the lead at 2-1 on a goal by Carter Sturgeon. The Hornets would keep the fight up and tie the game up in the closing minutes of the third period at 2 and force overtime by a goal from Greyson Giroux. In the overtime, the Lakers would secure the 3-2 victory on goal from Brendan Bullock. In the winning effort, the Lakers go to 5-3 on the season and play Northeastern Clinton next. While the Hornets fall to 2-4-1 on season and head to Norwood-Norfolk on the weekend for the annual tournament. Gallery

Saranac Lake/Lake Placid Lakers Andres Stanton (1) with the glove save on the low shot Gallery