Northeastern Clinton’s Ryan Racine and Pelham’s Eric Elbery jostle for position as they arrive at the loose puck along the half boards. The Northeastern Clinton Central School boys hockey team’s season came to an end Saturday with an 8-3 loss to the top-ranked team in NYSPHSAA Division II hockey in the regional round of the state championship tournament.
The Cougars played hard to the end, but they were unable to overcome the Pelicans of Pelham Memorial High School.
Pelham put pressure on the Cougars early, keeping the puck in the offensive zone for much of the third period. The Pelicans led shots by a 31-4 margin at the first intermission, with a pair of goals by sophomore Griffin Evans - both assisted by junior Louie Marcelino - the difference on the scoreboard.
The Cougars came out of the locker room looking to get back even and accomplished half of that job when senior Reid Lavalley notched the team’s first tally of the game.
Any momentum the Cougars wanted to take from that was stifled quickly, as senior captain Luke Green restored the Pelicans’ two-goal lead just 27 seconds later.
Pelham Memorial piled on a further two goals, by Marcelino and junior defenseman Eric Elbery, to build up a comfortable 5-1 lead. A couple of breaks for the Northeastern Clinton team threatened to put them right back in the game before the end of the period, though.
The first came as senior defenseman Blake Chevalier launched the puck up the ice 175 feet from behind his own goal line. Instead of going behind for icing, the bouncing puck hit the pads of goaltender Jake Mallinson and deflected into the net.
The second break came just 46 seconds later, as freshman Winfred Simpson scored off assists from Lavalley and freshman Ryan Racine to bring the Cougars within two goals.
That was the closest the Section VII champions would get, however, as the Pelicans added another goal by Marcelino before the end of the period, with Evans and senior Ben Rosenberg getting the assists.
The third period was once again one controlled by Pelham Memorial, with an 18-4 advantage in shots in the final frame. Freshman Mark Rosa got on the score sheet at 11:28 of the third period, assisted by freshman Reid Finster and Rosenberg, before Marcelino completed his hat trick 23 seconds later.
Rosenberg recorded assists on Pelham’s last five goals of the game.
Mallinson made 14 saves for Pelham, while senior Alain Juneau’s 66 saves in net for Northeastern fell short, as the Pelicans outshot the Cougars 74-17 in the contest.
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Pelham’s Angus Deeney skates in on goal as Northeastern Clinton goaltender Alain Juneau prepares to make one of the 66 saves he would make in the game. Gallery

Moriah's Bryce Sprague (33) splits the defender and takes flight for the layup and score. It would be the first Champlain Valley Athletic Conference Boy's Basketball championship of the weekend as the #1 Moriah Vikings would face off with the #2 Ausable Valley Patriots for the class c championship and punch their ticket to the NYSPHSAA Tournament. The game would not start off good for the defending championing Moriah Vikings as they would start the game off down 11-2 but would start to come back as they would finish the quarter 8-6 and trail 17-10 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, they would get the hot a hand going on a 15-10 quarter and trail by a slim 27-25 at the intermission. In the third quarter, they would take the lead on the strength of some good defense with 12-9 quarter and take the small 37-36 lead into the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Vikings offense would continue to stay hot and would finish off the Patriots with an 18-13 quarter and secure the 55-49 victory. In the winning effort, the Moriah Vikings advance to the NYSPHSAA Class C Tournament and will take on #`16 Madrid Waddington from Section X On March 9th at SUNY Canton as the Ausable Valley Patriots season comes to an end at 15-5. Gallery

Ausable Valley's Aidan Lopez with the three from the corner over the out stretched arm of Moriah's Brady Olcott (4) to keep the run going. Gallery

Northern Adirondack's Rhylee Poupure (11) with the three from the wing to keep the Bobcats hot. It would be the first championship of championship weekend as the #1 Northern Adirondack Bobcats would do battle with the #2 Ausable Valley Patriots for the Section VII Class C Championship. The first quarter would be very low scoring as there seemed like there was a lid on the basket as the Bobcats would have a low scoring 6-2 lead after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Bobcats would start to find a little easier as they would win the quarter 11-5 and take a 17-7 lead into the intermission. The break would do the Patriots will as they would come back with a good offense output and a 14-11 quarter but would trail in the game 25-21. In the fourth quarter, the Patriots would do their best to cut into the lead but the deficit from the second quarter would be too much as they would win the quarter 15-14 although the Bobcats would hold on for the 42-36 victory. In the winning effort, the Northern Adirondack Bobcats advance to the NYSPHSAA Class C Girl's Tournament and will play Madrid-Waddington on March 9th at SUNY Canton as the Ausable Valley Patriots season come to end at 14-5. Gallery

Ausable Valley's Kaydence Hoehen (10) with the three from the wing as she tries to her team in the game and comeback alive. Gallery

Schroon Lake’s Ian Pelkey turns to drive toward the basket after getting behind Seton’s Aiden Pearl. The Seton Catholic boys basketball team earned a postseason victory Wednesday with a 53-41 over Schroon Lake in the Class D semifinal.
The Knights looked to set the tone early, maintaining a lead through most of the first quarter led by 7 points from Ashton Guay, but a three-point shot from Carter Hart late in the quarter gave the Wildcats an 11-9 advantage at the first buzzer.
Seton pulled away in the second quarter, with Guay, Alex Coupal, and Aiden Pearl each scoring five or more as the Knights outscored the Wildcats 17-4 in the quarter.
The Knights expanded their lead in the third, as Pearl posted 8 points to nearly match Schroon Lake's team total of 9 in the frame. Isaiah Pelkey's 12-point fourth-quarter performance was unable to close the gap, and Seton sealed it for the home victory.
Guay led the Knights' scoring with 20 points, followed by Pearl's 18. Pelkey's late burst in the comeback attempt saw him end with 25 points in the game.
With the win, Seton advanced to the Class D final against Boquet Valley Saturday at Clinton Community College.
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Seton’s Alex Coupal (10) and Dominic Allen (33) reach for the rebound ahead of Schroon Lake’s Ian Pelkey (13) and Corbin Baker (35). Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Mark Keeling (14) with the crunching hit on the Kangaroo attack as he makes the turn towards the net. It would be the season opener for the Plattsburgh State Cardinals lacrosse team as they would host north country opponent the Canton Kangaroos in nonconference action on a windy afternoon at the Plattsburgh State Fieldhouse. The game would start off good for the home Cardinals as they would have a 4-2 lead after the first quarter with goals from Stephen Kane (twice), Zach Gill, and Donald Wood. In the second quarter, the Cardinals would start to take control of the game with a 4-0 quarter on goals from John Eiseman (twice), Michael Swift, and Matt Trypaluk for an 8-2 Cardinals lead at the intermission. When the teams came back for the third quarter the Cardinals firepower would be there as they would have a 7-1 quarter on goals from Stephen Kane (a third of the night), Andrew Braverman, Matt Trypaluk (second of the night), John Eiseman (a third of the game), Logan Vilardi, Gustav Rugg and Zach Gill (second of the game) and take a controlling 15-3 lead into the fourth quarter. In that fourth quarter, the teams would tie with three goals each, and scoring for the Cardinals would be Michael Swift (second of the night), Stephen Kane (fourth and fifth of the game) as the Cardinals get the 18-6 win. In the winning effort, Zach Gill would lead the way with seven points in the game on two goals and seven assist as the Cardinals start their season at 1-0 and will head to the road this weekend to take on the Norwich Cadets. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Jimbo Farrelly (9) with the clean face-off win and rushes to the attack zone and set up the offense. Gallery

Northeastern Clinton's Reid LaValley (2) with the goal over Beekmantown's Austin Doser (31 as he gets hit and sent to the ice. It would be a match-up of the top two teams in the Champlain Valley Athletic Conference as the #1 Beekmantown Eagles would faceoff with the #2 Northeastern Clinton Cougars for the conference championship at the Plattsburgh State Fieldhouse. The game would start out very evenly matched through the first period as there would be no score after one but that doesn't mean that there weren't chances by both teams to get on the board. The Cougars would finally break the ice and get the opening goal of the game from Reid LaValley for the 1-0 lead 4:12 into the second period. The game would stay there till the 10:34 mark of the period when Reid Fessette would get the equalizer on the unassisted goal. Then in the final 90 seconds of the period, the Eagles would pull ahead on the Luke Moser powerplay goal to take a 2-1 lead into the second intermission, The game would stay there till the ten-minute mark of the third period when Reid Levalley would strike for the second goal of the game and tie the game at two. The game would stay there through the rest of the regulation and we were headed into that all-important overtime. It would take until there were eight seconds left in the second overtime when Reid LaValley would strike for the third time and get the championship. With the win, the Northeastern Clinton Cougars will be headed to the NYSPHSAA Division 2 tournament and will take on the #1 team in the state Pelham on March 5th for the right to go to the NYSPHSAA Final Four March 12th-13th. Gallery

Beekmantown's Sam Bingel (11) with the hard hit on Northeastern Clinton's Wayne Simpson (18) that sends him flying into the glass. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Sara Krauseneck (25) with the short side attempt at the goal as part of a two-goal night. It would be the start of the playoff season at the Ronald B Stafford Arena as the #1 Plattsburgh State Cardinals would host the #4 Potsdam State Bears in the semi-finals of the NEWHL Championship. The home Cardinals would start the game fast and furious in front of the near 400 fans with three goals in the first four minutes of the game from Sara Krauseneck, Ivy Boric, and Annie Katonka and lead 3-0 after the first period. In the second the Cardinals would not let off the throttle as they would light the lamp three more times from Sara Krauseneck (second of the night), Nicole Unsworth, and Annie Katonka (second of the night) and have a 6-0 lead after the second period. In the third period, the Cardinals would add a couple more goals to put the icing on the cake from Kaitlin Drew-Mead and Tatem Cheney and secure the 8-0 win. In the winning effort, Chloe Beaubien would make 25 saves in the shutout victory as they advance to the NEWHL Championship against the Cortland State Red Dragons. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Nicole Unsworth (20) slides in the rebound past the Potsdam State goaltender for the goal. Gallery

Beekmantown's Grace McCasland (3) with the three from the top of the arc to keep her team in the fight. It would be the Champlain Valley Athletic Conference Class B Semi-finals as the #1 Saranac Chiefs would host the #4 Beekmantown Eagles for the right to play in the finals next Saturday, March 5th at Clinton Community College. The game would start off good for the top-seeded Chiefs as they would have the 16-9 lead after the first quarter. The Chiefs would continue to pull away through the second quarter but the Eagles would do their best to keep it close with a 10-6 Chiefs quarter and 26-15 lead at the break. When the teams would come back for the third quarter the Eagles would come soaring back with a 25-16 quarter making it a slim 42-40 lead for the Chiefs as they headed into the fourth quarter. In that fourth quarter, the Chiefs shut down defense would return with a 17-4 quarter and end up cruising to the 59-44 win. In the winning effort, they will advance to the Champlain Valley Athletic Conference championship march at Clinton Community College on March 5th against Northeastern Clinton Cougars. Gallery

Saranac (21) throws it up off the window as the Beekmantown defender Grace McCasland (3) is on her hip. Gallery

Northeastern Clinton's Darren Dubois (23) with the contested shot over Saranac's Justin Bedard (0) for the basket to keep his team in the front early. It would be game number 2 on the day for Saranac High School as the #1 Saranac Chiefs would host the #5 Northeastern Clinton Cougars in the Champlain Valley Athletic Conference Class B Semi-Finals and take on the winner of #2 Plattsburgh Hornets and #3 Saranac Lake Red Storm in finals on March 5th at Clinton Community College. The upset-minded Cougars would be in good shape after the first quarter with a quick sprint to a 19-12 lead. In the second quarter, the Chiefs would start pulling them back in with a 15-p quarter and trail 28-27 at the intermission. The third quarter when the teams came back would be an even quarter with nine points each making it 37-36 game headed to the fourth. In the fourth quarter, some clinch defense by the Cougars would lead to an 18-13 quarter and a 55-49 win for the Cougars. In the winning effort, the #5 Northeastern Clinton Cougars have earned a surprise spot in the championship against the #2 Plattsburgh Hornets at Clinton Community College. Gallery

Saranac's Justin Bedard (0) lays it off the window for the score as Northeastern Clinton's Aidan Creller looking for the rebound. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Ryan Hogg (19) with the scramble goal in front of the net to get the Cardinals one the board with 5 minutes left in the first period. The game would start off good for the underdog Golden Eagles as they would get the opening goal of the game from Connor Galloway at the 4:49 mark of the first period. The Cardinals would fight back and get the tying goal at the 13:24 mark from Ryan Hogg. The tie would be short-lived as Connor Galloway would strike again with his second goal of the game just two minutes later to regain the lead at 2-1. Just 1:44 into the second period the Golden Eagles would make it a two-goal game at 3-1 on the powerplay goal by Andrew Harley. From there the Cardinals would take control of the period with five goals in a ten-minute span from Christian DiFelice (twice), Carson Gallagher, Trey Thomas, Thomas Maia and make it a 6-3 Cardinals game with three minutes left in the second period. In the third period just 3:42 into it, Golden Eagles would make it a 6-4 game on the Jacob King goal. Then in a 15-second span with 90 seconds left in the game, the Golden Eagles would score twice and force overtime on Anthony Hora's goal and Connor Galloway's powerplay goal to send it to overtime tied at six. In the overtime at 8:10, the comeback and upset would be complete at the 8:10 mark when Scott Ramaekers would find the back of the night for the 7-6 Golden Eagles win. In the loss for the Cardinals, their season comes to end at 15-8-3 while the Brockport State Golden Eagles head to the semi-finals and will faceoff with the #1 Geneseo Knights. Gallery

Plattsburgh State's Bennett Stockdale (15) with the crunching hit along the boards that pancakes the Golden Eagle to the glass. Gallery