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SLP captures Lake Placid Carnival tourney title

Tyler Hinckley of Saranac Lake Placid tracks down the puck while skating past Rye defender Brian Curran during the championship game of the Lake Placid High School Winter Carnival tournament on Saturday, Feb. 1 at the Olympic Center. News photo — Lou Reuter

LAKE PLACID – The Saranac Lake Placid boys hockey team captured the title of the Lake Placid High School Winter Carnival Tournament with a 4-3 victory Saturday, Feb. 1 over Rye at the Olympic Center’s 1932 Rink.

For decades, Lake Placid’s boys hockey team hosted the event, and this year marks a first as the Blue Bombers combined with the former Saranac Lake Red Storm to form the SLP squad.

SLP rolled to a 5-0 victory over Norwood-Norfolk in the tournament’s first game on Thursday, Jan. 30, and carried over its solid play into Saturday’s tilt with the Garnets, who hail from Section I.

Senior Ben Munn lifted SLP to a 1-0 edge with an unassisted goal just 10 seconds into the game, and the hosts held the lead the rest of the way.

SLP dominated much of the contest and owned a 3-1 lead, as well as a 27-6 advantage in shots on goal entering the third period. The Garnets, however, created some anxious minutes for SLP down the stretch when they scored with just under five minutes remaining in regulation to cut their deficit to 4-3.

SLP forward Brady Tremblay, a freshman at Lake Placid High School, holds his position near the front of the opposition's net, during his team's 5-0 victory over Norwood-Norfolk on Thursday, Jan. 30 in the first game of Lake Placid's Winter Carnival hockey tournament at the Olympic Center. News photo — Lou Reuter

But SLP held on, thanks in part on a nifty glove save made by netminder Anders Stanton on a Rye breakaway with just over a minute left on the clock.

Hugo Hobson, Brendan Bullock and Bailey Bartholomew each netted a goal for SLP, which improved to 10-5 overall.

“I thought we played really well early in the game,” SLP head coach Keith Clark said. “We started making mistakes, but like we said in the locker room, ‘We kind of bent but didn’t break in the end.’ We found a way to win a game against a good team.

“We’re happy that we won the tournament. It’s been a while for the home team,” Clark added. “Both communities are celebrating their winter carnivals, so it’s a nice feather in the cap for the boys. A festive day for everybody.”

Ben Munn got SLP going in a hurry when he picked up a loose puck outside the Garnets blue line, drove toward the goal and stuffed into the right side of the net past Rye’s Annabelle Thomas with just 10 seconds off the clock. Hobson then gave SLP a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission, scoring 6:21 into the contest with Tyler Hinckley assisting.

The teams traded goals in the second period. Sasha Vasyuta buried a puck for Rye at the 7:44 mark to make it a 2-1 contest, and Bullock gave SLP its two-goal edge back with 1:28 left in the second, wristing home a rebound following a shot by Munn.

It looked like SLP was going to skate to an easy victory when Bartholomew upped the lead to 4-1 on a goal 2:19 into the third period on another tally set up by Munn. Rye then stormed back with two unanswered goals. Brian Curran buried a puck at the 4:54 mark, and Liam Hurley made it a 4-3 game, scoring with 4:48 remaining in the third. But with the pressure on and the Garnets goalie pulled in favor of an extra attacker, SLP was able to hold on and claim the title for the host team for the first time in five years.

“They battled,” said SLP assistant Butch Martin. “That’s what was nice to see, and Anders comes up with that big save near the end – great for him, great for the team. We can generate some offense, it’s just a matter of putting pucks in the net.”

SLP outshot Rye 33-13, a situation that didn’t escape Garnets head coach Peter Thomas, whose players took down Saranac Central 6-3 Friday in their first game of the tournament.

“In our win Friday, I wasn’t really pleased with the way we played,” Thomas said. “We were sloppy, and then I thought we really didn’t show up in the first two periods of this game. Being out shot 27-6, that’s putting a little too much pressure on our goalie. Unfortunately it took until the third period to wake up and then it was a game. You can’t dig yourself that deep of a hole and expect to win.”

The weekend marked the third year that Rye, which dropped to 11-6, has traveled to the North Country to compete in Lake Placid’s Winter Carnival tournament.

As a sophomore a year ago playing in goal for Lake Placid’s out manned Blue Bombers, it wasn’t uncommon for Stanton to face 40 or more shots during hockey games. On Saturday, he was called on to make just 10 saves to pick up his second win in nets in as many games.

Stanton said he’s really enjoying being a member of SLP during its inaugural season.

“It’s a breath of fresh air. The whole team is coming together, and it’s great because we really needed each other,” Stanton said. “We’re building as a team now and it’s really working out well so far. These last two games, it raises us up for sure, our confidence and our morale.”

Munn, a senior defenseman from Saranac Lake High School, finished with a goal and two assists against Rye and was named the tournament’s most valuable player. As an interesting side note, 28 years ago to the day Saturday, Ben’s father Bryan Munn celebrated his birthday playing against rival Lake Placid in the tournament. In that game, Bryan Munn scored all three goals, including the overtime winner in Saranac Lake’s 3-2 victory over the Blue Bombers. Bryan Munn was the MVP of the tourney that year.

With four straight non-league games now in the books, the play gets really serious as SLP was scheduled to return to Section VII action in a build up toward the playoffs. SLP is on top the standings with a 4-0 record going into a huge matchup Wednesday, Feb. 5 against Beekmantown at the Saranac Lake Civic Center.

The last time the Eagles lost in that building was nine years ago. They enter the game with a 2-1 record in Section VII play and 7-6-1 overall and were coming off a 2-1 victory over Queensbury on Saturday, Feb. 1.

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