Beekmantown's Kelly Parker (35) with the midrange jumper over the defender for the score. It would be a showdown of the top two teams in Section VII Class B as the #1 Saranac Chiefs would meet up with the #2 Beekmantown Eagles at the SUNY Plattsburgh Fieldhouse for the right to go to the New York State Class B Tournament. The game would start off good for the #1 Chiefs as they would race out to the 17-7 lead after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Chiefs would keep their foot on the pedal and have a 18-6 quarter and cruise out to a 35-13 lead at the break. When the teams would return for the third quarter the Eagles would do there best to get back into the game as they win the quarter 18-14 but that would only trim into margin as the Chiefs still lead 49-31. In the fourth quarter, the Chiefs would stretch there lead back out with an 18-12 quarter and cruise to the 67-43 victory. In the winning effort, the Saranac Chiefs clinch the Class B Championship and head to the New York State Quarterfinals on March 14th at Beekmantown High School. Gallery

Saranac's Connor Burns (2) goes up hard with the Beekmantown defender right there but still lays it off the window for the score. Gallery

SLP goaltender Anders Stanton stonewalls a rebound attempt by Queensbury senior Brendan Duffy in the second period of the NYSPHSAA boys’ ice hockey regional Saturday at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. The Section VII Champion Saranac Lake/Lake Placid boys’ hockey team’s inaugural season ended Saturday with a 6-4 loss to Queensbury in the NYSPHSAA Regionals at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. SLP, playing without leading goalscorer Dylan Amell for the game, opened the scoring just 3:55 into the game with a goal from junior forward Rhett Darrah, only to see junior Devon Salone equalize for the visitors at the 11:13 mark of the first period. Queensbury nearly gained the lead in the final minute of the opening frame, when senior forward Brendan Duffy danced his way through the SLP defense for a close-range shot, forcing a save from goaltender Anders Stanton. The second period was an active one for goalscorers, with five goals in the period. Less than a minute after the intermission, Darrah netted his second of the game off the rebound to go-ahead 2-1, but that lead lasted a little more than a minute before senior defenseman Josh DeMattos again tied the score for Queensbury. SLP nudged in front again at the 5:15 mark when senior Camden Reilley found twine, and the host team reached the midpoint of the game having never trailed on the scoreboard. Queensbury’s freshman defenseman Jared Chamberlain worked his way into the low slot before beating Stanton at the 9:45 mark of the second period, again tying the game. That was when the momentum shifted. DeMattos got his second tally of the contest off a defensive turnover by SLP, giving Queensbury its first lead of the day. SLP senior Hunter Wilmot had a golden opportunity to answer that in the dying moments of the second period when he got his stick to bouncing puck inches above the goal line in front of an open net with Queensbury goaltender Blake Powers well out of the crease. Disrupted by DeMattos, Wilmot couldn’t find the leverage to direct the puck, and it sailed past the far post. Queensbury extended their lead to three goals in the third, with tallies from Paul Wright and Salone. Sophomore defenseman Carter Sturgeon beat Powers with a wrist shot from just inside the blue line at 13:27, but Queensbury held on for the 6-4 victory to advance to the NYSPHSAA Semifinals at Buffalo’s Harborcenter. Powers made 19 saves in the win, while Stanton stopped 40 shots in net for SLP. Gallery

Saranac Lake/Lake Placid's Rhett Darrah (10) on the doorstep going after the rebound to keep the game close. Gallery

The Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team celebrates the 2020 NEWHL championship. The Plattsburgh State Women's hockey team won its third Northeast Women's Hockey League title, and eighth consecutive conference championship overall, with a 6-1 victory over SUNY Oswego Saturday at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. The victory earned the Cardinals an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III championship tournament, which was subsequently canceled as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The NEWHL Championship game began well for the visiting Lakers, who found themselves on the powerplay on six-second into the contest when senior defenseman Hannah Kirly was called for interference. While Oswego was unable to capitalize on that opportunity, the visitors took the lead at the 7:52 mark with a goal from Pliomena Teggart, assisted by Kate Rendazzo and NEWHL Rookie of the Year Megan Teachout. The Cardinals tied the contest at 10:23 when a loose puck deflected out to the top of the crease and Kaitlin Drew-Mead picked it up and put it under the pad of goaltender Rachel Farmer. Plattsburgh took the lead for good five minutes later, as Drew-Mead carried the puck into the zone and stretched around the defense to get a soft shot on Farmer, giving Sara Krauseneck the rebound opportunity for her 19th goal of the season. The home team went into the first intermission up 2-1, with a healthy 22-8 advantage in shots on goal. The defending national champions got the insurance goal at 7:06 of the second period on the powerplay, when Nicole Unsworth's shot from the left faceoff circle found the back of the net, prompting a leaping celebration from defenseman Emma Killeen. Later in the period, Kiraly found herself down low in the crease to poke at a rebound in front of Farmer and extend the Cardinals' lead to 4-1. Plattsburgh's Taylor Whitney and Annie Katonka both scored in the third period for the final tally of 6-1. Plattsburgh goaltender Ashley Davis made 20 saves in the win, while Farmer stopped 49 of the 55 shots she faced between the pipes for Oswego. With the win and subsequent cancellation of the NCAA tournament, the Cardinals finished their season with a final record of 26-1 and an 18-game winning streak. Seniors Kiraly, Sarah Wolf, and Jen Manning denied an opportunity to play for their third national title, finished with a career record of 107-8-3. Gallery

Plattsburgh’s Abby Brush lines up a shot on Oswego goaltender Rachel Farmer in the NEWHL championship game at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. Gallery

Plattsburgh's Owen Chapple (31) with the paddle save on the rebound attempt as part of a 26 save night. It would be the first of two games between the Plattsburgh Roadrunners (pewee) and the Clifton Park Eagles (peewee) at the AC North Arena as they would host there last home games of the season. It would be a slow start for both teams as there would be no scoring in the first period, We would finally get the first goal of the game when the Eagles would open up the scoring at the 1:17 mark of the second period. The Roadrunners would tie the game up at the 11:38 mark of the second period on the Tom Sorensen goal. Then just 2:30 into the third period the Roadrunners would take the 2-1 lead on the Gerald Woodruff goal. Then just over a minute later the Roadrunners would extend there lead on the Aiden Chapple goal to make it 3-1. Then at the 5:40 mark of the period the Roadrunners would take the 4-1 lead on the Jonathan Roy goal on his shot from the blue line. The Eagles would get a late goal to make it 4-2. Although the roadrunners would hold on for the 4-2 win and Owen Chapple would have 26 saves on the night. Gallery

Plattsburgh Aiden Chapple (40) comes in on the breakaway and buries it for the goal. Gallery

Saranac Lake/Lake Placid's Andres Stanton (1) finds a use for the head as he saves the puck with it off the shot from Saranac's Austin Carpenter (6). It would be time for the Champlain Valley Athletic Conference Championship and it would be a battle of the Saranac's as it would be the #1 Saranac Lake/Lake Placid Lakers and the #3 Saranac Chiefs battling for the right to be crowned champions and head to the New York State Tournament. The game would start well for the upset-minded Chiefs as they would get the opening goal of the game from Austin Carpenter at the 7:27 mark of the first period for the 1-0 Chiefs and they would hold that through the period. Although when the second period came the Lakers would waste little time tying the game up at the 45 seconds mark on the Rhett Darrah goal. Then in a two-minute span in the 5th and 7th minute Tyler Hinckley would score to give the Lakers the 3-1 lead. Then in the last 1:10 of the second, the Lakers would strike again for the 4-1 lead on the Bailey Bartholomew goal. Then in the third period, the Lakers would put the game away at the 6:01 mark of the period on the second Rhett Darrah goal this time on the shorthand. In the winning effort, the Lakers go to 15-6-1 on the season as Andres Stanton would make 15 saves and have a date with the Queensbury Spartans in the New York State Division 2 Quarterfinals. Although the season would come to end the Chiefs have nothing to hang there heads on as Eric Frechette would make 55 saves as they end there season at 13-9. Gallery

Saranac's Eric Fechette (30) with the glove save as one of his 55 saves on the night as the Chiefs come up short in finals. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Robert Braceland (2) on the attack to the net takes a check from the Clarkson defender. The Plattsburgh State Cardinals would have their home opener against a fellow north country foe the Clarkson Golden Knights as they were looking for there first win of the season. The game would not start good for the home Cardinals as they would trail 4-1 after the first quarter with the lone goal coming from Daniel Bonafede. In the second quarter, the Cardinal would find there offense although it still wouldn't be enough as they lose the quarter 6-4. Scoring for the Cardinals would be Kieran Rowley, and Dillon Smith (three) and trail 10-5 at the break. When the teams came back for the second half the defenses on both teams would take control of the game as it would be 4-1 Knights in the half with the lone cardinal foal from Robert Braceland as the Cardinals fall 15-6. In the losing effort, Dillon Smith would score three times as they fall to 0-2 on the season. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Dilon Smith (51) takes a check as he come around the back from the Clarkson defender as he would have a three goal game. Gallery

Saranac’s Conner Burn collects a long breakout pass in the fourth quarter of the Section VII semifinal at Clinton Community College, as Northeastern Clinton’s Bryan Claudio tries to chase him down. The Saranac boys basketball team earned a spot in the Section VII Championship game with a convincing 64-39 win over Northeastern Clinton Saturday at Clinton Community College. The Chiefs ran out in front early, taking a 12-4 lead in the first few minutes. The Cougars kept Saranac from running too much further away for most of the first half, and the teams went into halftime at 34-20 in favor of last year's runner-up. In the second half, Saranac proved to be too much for their opponents, with their lead hitting as much as 20 points at one stage before the final 15-point victory. The Chiefs were paced by senior Connor Recore, who hit two 3-pointers and three free throws en route to 17 points. Fellow seniors Jared Duquette and Brady Hebert both scored 14 in the win. For the Cougars, junior James Molinski scored 11, while senior Alex Gomez notched 10. With the win, Saranac advanced to the Section VII Championship, in which the Chiefs will tip-off against Beekmantown Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Plattsburgh State Fieldhouse. Gallery

Saranac senior Cogan Johnston tries to pull in the offensive rebound as the ball falls toward Northeastern Clinton’s Thomas Gilbo in the Section VII semifinal at Clinton Community College. Gallery

Beekmantown junior Cole Nephew drives along the baseline after getting around Plattsburgh’s Kurt Oullette in the Section VII boys’ basketball Class B semifinals at Clinton Community College. The margins were tight in the Section VII boys' basketball Class B semifinal Saturday at Clinton Community College, where the Eagles were 43-42 winners over Plattsburgh High School. A back-and-forth first half saw Beekmantown go into the halftime break with a 6-point lead, but it was the second half where the fireworks began. The Eagles picked up the pace in the third quarter, building a 13-point lead, but the Hornets responded in kind in the fourth quarter. Having closed the gap, Plattsburgh's Ian DeTulleo put away a shot with 54 seconds on the clock to take the late lead. Beekmantown's Nate Finley was awarded a pair of free throws on the immediate next possession, making one tie the game at 42. The Hornets could have retaken the lead with only 6 seconds left in the game, but the layup by Dylan Garrant missed, giving the Eagles the final possession. Beekmantown junior Ian-James McCasland collected the rebound and took it up the court, but he was fouled by Liam Perkins near half-court. With the Eagles already in the double bonus, that gave McCasland a pair of free-throws to take the lead with 3.1 seconds left. He missed the first but struck gold with the second attempt. McCasland then ensured the win by intercepting the in-bounds pass near the sideline. With his momentum going out of bounds, he lofted the ball into the air with nearly 2 seconds on the clock, ensuring time would expire before it fell back down. The tight contest saw only two players - Finley for Beekmantown and Garrant for Plattsburgh - hit double-digit scoring, with each reaching 11 points on the night. With the victory, the Eagles advanced to the Section VII Class B championship game, Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Plattsburgh State Fieldhouse, where they will face the top-seeded Chiefs from Saranac. Gallery

Beekmantown junior Ian-James McCasland lines up the go-ahead free throw with 3.1 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to send the Eagles to a 43-42 win in the Section VII boys’ basketball Class B semifinals at Clinton Community College. Gallery

Plattsburgh State captain Madison Walker cuts back to try to shake off Cortland’s Kirsten MacDowell in the offensive zone during the NEWHL Semifinal Saturday at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. The No. 1 Plattsburgh State women’s ice hockey team notched another win Saturday, taking down SUNY Cortland 3-0 in the NEWHL semifinals at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. The afternoon started slowly for the Cardinals’ offense, as the defending national champions were held off the scoreboard through 20 minutes of play for the first time since Jan. 11, ending a streak of 10 games. The defense held firm, though, as goaltender Ashley Davis turned away all six shots she faced. Plattsburgh State broke the deadlock at the 7:58 mark of the second period, as Abby Brush sent home a third rebound chance in a chaotic sequence in the Cortland crease to score her 12th goal of the season. While that was the only scoring of the middle frame, the Cardinals looked to capitalize on that momentum heading into the third period to ensure victory. That insurance came on the powerplay when Annie Katonka was in front to capitalize on the rebound from Erin McArdle’s shot from the left faceoff circle. With the Cardinals in front 2-0, the victory was all but certain after defenseman Sierra Benjamin sent a relatively soft shot from a low angle. Benjamin and her teammates crashed the net to pick up a rebound, but Benjamin’s shot had deflected off the pads of goaltender Chelsea Allain and crossed the line. The 3-0 victory improved Plattsburgh State’s all-time record against Cortland to 47-0-0, a streak dating back to December 2001, and brought this season’s record to 25-1-0. After winning the semifinal, the Cardinals will host the Lakers of SUNY Oswego in the NEWHL Championship game Saturday at 3 p.m. Gallery

Plattsburgh State senior defenseman Hannah Kiraly drives to the Cortland net after collecting the puck while coming out of the penalty box in the NEWHL Semifinal Saturday at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Allie Vangas (41) with the shot in traffic that would tie the game up late. It would be the opening game of the spring season or so we thought it would be as the Plattsburgh State Cardinals would host the Canton Kangaroos and in a snowed filled NCAA Women's Lacrosse game. The game would start off good for the home Cardinals as they would get the opening goal of the game from Kerri Corcoran. Although the rest of the half would go the way of the Canton Kangaroos as they would outscore them 8-3 and the Cardinals would trail 8-4 at the break. Scoring for the Cardinals in the first would be Kerri Corcoran (twice), Allie Vangas, and Lindsey Guzzetta. When the teams would come back for the second half the Cardinals would flip the script and win the second 8-4 and force overtime as they would be tied at 12. In the second half Frankie Porcaro, Allie Vangas (twice), Katie Kallamni (three), and Emily Caoili would score to force overtime. In the overtime period, it would go back and forth until the final minute when Frankie Porcaro would rip her second of the game to give the Cardinals the 13-12 victory. In the winning effort, goalkeepers would combine for ten saves as Allie Vangas and Katie Kallamni would each have a hat trick as the Cardinals start the season at 1-0. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Kate Kennedy (21) and Canton's defender battle after the ground ball along the sidelines. Gallery