PLATTSBURGH — From the opening faceoff, Beekmantown set a blistering pace on their way to steamrolling Saranac Lake-Placid 9-0 in the Section VII boys hockey title match Monday night.
Zach LaPier and Edward Sweenor both had four goals, and Sweenor added three assists in leading the Eagles to the title.
“They are quite a dynamic duo,” Eagle Coach Justin Frechette said.
“A senior and a freshman, and I’m super happy for them, but there were a lot of hidden things in that game that a lot of players did out there that don’t show up on the score sheet.”
LaPier, a senior, got Beekmantown going when he scored at 3:04 of the first period. He added another one at 5:38 when he and Sweenor and Sam Bingel worked a pretty play that ended with LaPier burying a shot just under the crossbar.
He completed the natural hat trick just 38 seconds later when he pounced on a rebound in front of SLP netminder Scottie Nicholas to make it 3-0.
Sweenor scored his first goal at 13:33 to round out the scoring for the first period on an assist from his brother Louis Sweenor.
The Eagles outshot SLP 26-1 in the first period. Nicholas was called upon to make several tough saves off Beekmantown chances from in close.
SLP came out much stronger in the second period and the game took on the same flavor for them as the semi-final game last week against Saranac when they were down 3-0 and outshot 27-1 in the first period before righting the ship and coming back for a 7-4 upset win over the Spartans.
But Eagle goaltender Jack Bell denied SLP on several good scoring chances they had in the middle frame.
The period ended with the score still 4-0, but SLP appeared to have some life.
But all hopes were dashed when Beekmantown came out and stashed two in the back of the net in the first 32 seconds of the third period before the crowd at the Ronald B. Stafford Arena could even get settled. Edward Sweenor got both of them to give him a natural hat trick as well.
LaPier and Sweenor both added one more each and Carter LaPier finished the scoring with a goal 10:32 of the final period.
“We knew they were going to give us a little push back in the championship game and they did a little there in the second period, but I thought we still controlled play and eliminated shots against us,” Frechette said.
LaPier said Beekmantown’s heavy pressure was the difference.
“We just put the puck in deep and go to work and create turnovers and get our opportunities,” he said.
The Eagles will now look forward to the state playoffs next weekend.
“We are going to take this and celebrate as long as we can and then it is back to work in practice tomorrow and we are going to practice hard the rest of the week,” LaPier said.
Frechette said that he was proud of his team’s performance.
“I am super proud of the overall game they played and zero goals against is what I am most proud of,” he said.
“We will focus on the next practice, we will watch the film, and continue to work.”