PLATTSBURGH — As the seconds ticked down, emotions started to come out of the Saranac Spartans.
They were winning 6-3, but didn’t want to get ahead of themselves.
“It’s a nice feeling,” Spartan goaltender Shawn McLane said. “But I can’t get too excited, because the clock’s still running and they can still score. So I’m absolutely still dialed in.”
When the buzzer sounded, gloves, sticks and helmets were thrown into the air in celebration. Saranac players skated towards the fan section and celebrated together after they won the Section VII Boys Ice Hockey Championship, for the first time since 2009.
It wasn’t just that, but it was the first win at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena against Beekmantown in a long time.
For senior Ashtyn Catlin, who’s been on the team since 7th grade, he couldn’t hold it in as he had never won there. and to top it off he crossed the 100-point threshold in the game as well.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “My team means everything to me in this place, the support system, everything. It’s awesome.
“We’re just one big happy family.”
It didn’t come easy for Saranac either, as Beekmantown held the lead three different times: 1-0, 2-1, 3-2. When possibly the Spartans could have crumbled fighting back and not getting the lead, it only lit the fire under them more.
“A big part of the message was, we’re gonna run into adversity at some point in this game,” Saranac head coach Robby Knowles said. “It happens in any game that you play. and how are we going to react when there’s an adverse situation, and falling behind is a perfect example of adversity early on in the game.
“And I felt as though our guys did a really good job of staying focused and not letting it get to them and focus on the next shift.”
And Knowles’ senior laden team wasn’t going to let this be the last game they played.
“It’s just the memories of playing together,” Nolan Miner said. “You know, there are a lot of seniors on this team. and you know, for some of them, it could’ve been the last game that they play competitively.
“We didn’t want to end it tonight. I’m super, super grateful for this group of guys here. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
But it wasn’t just the eight seniors who set the tone for Saranc, it was a full team effort.
““It’s just an awesome feeling,” Ryan Campbell said. “I’m only a sophomore and to help this team win this game is amazing. Truly just surreal.”
Campbell finished the game with a hat trick as his linemates Miner and Landon Giroux were credited with assists on all three of his goals.
“This group means a lot to me,” Knowles said. “They’re doing things off the ice, they’re doing things at school. They’re doing things even when we don’t have team functions going on, just to stay close together as a group..
“They’ve had the attitude that they don’t want this season to end. and when you have that attitude, you play a little bit differently. You play with the chip. Play with a chip on your shoulder, Our whole lineup bought in and sold out. and it made the little things happen to make success in this one.”
If you missed the first two periods of the game, you missed an exciting back and forth that felt like a boxing match, like the last time standing would be declared the winner.
Beekmantown and Saranac traded goals, all the way until midway through the second period.
The Eagles’ Edward Sweenor got things going early, getting the puck past McLane early in the game, only for Catlin to tie things up five minutes later.
The second period started similarly to the first, with Beekmantown grabbing an early goal with Novak Jarus putting his team ahead in the 2nd minute of the period.
Less than a minute later, Campbell got his first goal of the game with a back and forth set up by Miner and Giroux.
Beekmantown would grab its last lead in the 6th minute as Sweenor nabbed his second goal of the game.
But then Saranac grabbed the momentum on a penalty shot, tying the game as Miner scored on it. He joked after the game that when he saw the motion for a penalty shot that he felt it in the pit of his stomach.
He was confident as he told Knowles before the shot, this is why we practice these.
After Miner tied the game, Campbell gave the Spartans the lead in the closing minutes. The rest as they say is history.
“We were really, really resilient tonight,” Knowles said. “It felt like we were chasing it. We’d get even with them, and then they’d get the next one to pull back ahead.
“For a long time, we really struggled to get the lead. Once we got it there late in the second period, I felt like there was an extra boost. There was a lot of juice going on the bench, and really got our guys up.
“The message at that point was, let’s get to the room with the lead. Let’s protect this lead, and then we’ll focus on the third period. and credit to our guys that made some good plays late in the second period, and we got the first one in the third which was huge to gain some separation,”
Campbell recorded his hat trick in the 7th minute with Miner adding an empty net in the final minute.
“Credit to Beekmantown, they’re always very good at never giving up, no matter the score,” Miner said. “And we knew that they weren’t going to give up.
“We knew we had to match and outplay them. When we came out in that third period, we knew that the first goal was crucial. We came out and put one in the back of the net and kept going from there.”
For their part, Miner was right. The Eagles continued to push and fought from the first puck drop to the end.
It was the biggest thing, Beekmantown head coach Justin Frechette was proudest of.
“Super proud of my team,” he said. “I thought they played with class and integrity the entire game, and I’m super proud of their efforts all year.
“Very young team, but our standard is our standard, and I think our kids show that all year with how they played and how they conducted themselves.”
With its first sectional since 2009 captured, the Spartans, now ranked 10th in the state, will now turn their attention to a familiar foe, Queensbury. The two teams met on Feb 7, where Queensbury won 5-3.
They will now meet in a NYSPHSAA Division II Quarterfinal, Friday at the Fieldhouse. The puck is set to drop at 6:30 p.m.
—
Saranac 6, Beekmantown 3
SCS 1 3 2 – 6
BCS 1 2 0 – 3
First Period- 1. BCS, Sweenor (Parker), 14:20. 2. SCS, Catlin (Giroux, Campbell) 9:06.
Second Period- 3. BCS, Jarus, 15:56. 4. SCS, Campbell (Miner, Giroux), 15:06. 5. BCS, Sweenor (Jarus, Parker) 10:56. 6, SCS, Miner, PS, 7:40. 7. SCS, Campbell (Miner, Giroux) 1:53.
Third Period- 8. SCS, Campbell (Giroux, Miner), 10:56. 9. SCS, Miner, EN (Giroux) :54.
Shots- Saranac, 32-21
Saves- Bell, BCS, 27. McLane, SCS, 18