Salmon River girls hockey headed to state Frozen Four while Kelly marks 1,000 career points; Massena girls hockey season ended by Potsdam

In a big week for Salmon River varsity sports, the Lady Shamrocks clinched the Section 10 hockey title and a boys basketball standout scored his 1,000th career point.

On Feb. 3, the girls hockey team defeated Potsdam for the sectional banner at Pine Street Arena. They will advance to the high school Frozen Four on Feb. 10 and 11 at SUNY Oswego.

At the Section 10 title bout, Salmon River posted the first goal just 90 seconds into regulation off the stick of Lexi Lazore. Brycelan Sunday notched the second goal at 7:13. Potsdam's Kennedy Emerson put the Lady Sandstoners on the board with 14 seconds left in the frame, on a play set up by Maddie Dinneen and Alana McDonald. After 4:40 in the middle stanza, Erica Sloan tied the game with an assist from McDonald. With 4:13 left in the period, Madison Collette gained control of the puck and turned it into a goal that would push Salmon River into a lead they would hold for the remainder of the game. Carlie Cartier, the Shamrocks netminder, fashioned 19 saves and was named regular season co-MVP along with Potsdam's McDonald. Sandstoners goalie Taylor Razis denied 19 scoring attempts.

On Jan. 31, Salmon River downed Canton 7-1 on their home ice to earn their title match slot. The Lady Shamrocks pulled ahead 4-1 after the first period and that was it. Makhia Snyder posted the first SRC goal after taking a pass from Karli St. Ann 3:27 into the match-up, followed by two straight goals from Madison Collette by the 9:25 mark. Sydnee Francis notched Canton's only point at 8:41, unassisted. Lexi Lazore answered less than two minutes later, followed by a second-period goal. Brycelan Sunday and Rylee Garrow scored Shamrock goals six and seven. Libbie Tarbell and Myranda Collette each tallied two assists. Goalies Carli Cartier for Salmon River and Katie Premo for Canton each turned aside 22 shots.

On the same night, Massena fell to hosts Potsdam, which earned the Lady Sandstoners their spot in the sectional title. After being held scoreless for the first two stanzas, Massena managed two goals in the closing frame but allowed two others from the competition. Alex Quinn posted the game's first goal for Potsdam 5:05 into the first period, assisted by Alana McDonald. Erica Sloan, McDonald and Kennedy Emerson posted three unanswered goals in the second period. Lindsey LaDue assisted by Brittany Streeter at 5:45 and Hannah Chilton assisted by Abigail Johnson with 5:19 on the clock scored Massena's two goals. Emerson struck for the fifth Potsdam marker at 11:31 with assists from McDonald and Sloan. Maddie Dinneen scored their final goal with an assist from Mackenzie Martin. Mackenzie Garrow made 24 saves in the Massena net. Taylor Razis turned aside 21 shots for Potsdam.

The Shamrocks boys basketball team saw one of their players make history, as Ben Kelly crossed the 1,000-point threshold during their Jan. 31 game against Gouverneur. He is the third member of his family to reach the mark. His mother, Jocelyn (Furnia) Kelly, and sister, Abby Kelly, each did so during the respective 1981-82 and 2012-13 seasons, The Malone Telegram reported. Kelly earned his 1,000th point in the third period around the 4:05 mark. The previous evening, the Shamrocks defeated Massena 55-44. SRC worked up to a 10-11 lead after the end of the first quarter and jumped ahead to 41-24 going into the fourth, where they resisted a 20-13 Raider rally. Kelly scored a game-high 18 points. Hunter Ghostlaw scored 12, Montana Cook nine, Jared Bigness seven, Devin Snyder five, Blaze Benedict two and P.J. Ghostlaw netted a free throw. For the Raiders, Tyler Bacon scored 12 points, Alex Rusaw 10, Josh Sheets eight, Zack LaBarge seven, Tyler McDonald five and Gage Moody two.

On Feb. 2, the Shamrocks denied hosts St. Lawrence Central in a close 48-40 bout. SRC jumped ahead 16-6 after the first quarter and went on to hold St. Lawrence in check. Kelly scored a game-high 19 points. Hunter Ghostlaw and Bigness netted seven points each, Cook six, Benedict four, Snyder three and P.J. Ghostlaw two. On the St. Lawrence side, Matt Burg scored 10 points, Ben Horner nine, Kolby Perkins eight, Tobe Reome six, Ethan LaRock five and Alex Bush two.

In Massena boys basketball action, the Raiders lost to hosts Carthage 66-58 on Feb. 3, but not before defeating visiting Potsdam 64-47 the previous night. Against the Sandstoners, Massena's Tyler Bacon scored 19 points, Alex Rusaw and Spencer Beckstead 11 each, Chris McGregor seven, Zack LaBarge and Josh Sheets five each, and Gage Moody and Kaleb Miller two apiece. On the Potsdam side, Nic Gregg netted 14 points, Xavier Moses six, Kobe Phillips five, Donald Johnson and Zahir Purvis three apiece, and Jay McKinney, Teddy Rice and Patrick Blanchard two each.

The Lady Raiders went 3-1 on the hardwood over the course of a week, while the Lady Shamrocks lost one of those games and also fell to St. Lawrence. Massena and Salmon River met Jan. 29, which started with Massena outscoring 17-2 in the first quarter and 22-3 in the second, ended in a 59-19 Lady Raiders victory. Nova LeGrow netted a game-high 12 points for Massena. Alexis Jacobs and Alyssa Eubank each scored eight points, Hannah Greco, Paige Perry and Octavia Viskovich six each, Skyler Trumble four, Erin McCarthy three and Bailey Trumble, Alayna Taraska and Al'lainya Dumas two apiece. For the Lady Shamrocks, Jillian Benedict was the leading scorer with nine points, Yanenowi Logan and Wahsontiio came through with three each, Kamea Thomas two and Bailey White and Lauren Martin each made a free throw. The next night, Massena went on to narrowly lose to Ogdensburg Free Academy by just a single basket in a 48-46 contest. For Massena, Alyssa Eubank scored 15 points, Lexis Jacobs 10, Paige Perry nine and Nova LeGrow eight. OFA's Chelsey Raven notched a game-high 17 points. The same night at Brasher Falls, Salmon River dropped a 47-29 game to St. Lawrence Central. The Lady Larries jumped ahead 13-5 after the first quarter and never relinquished the game. For the Lady Shamrocks, Dava Thompson scored 11 points with five caroms. Wahsontiio pulled down eight rebounds in addition to scoring two points. Kamea Thompson scored eight points, Yanenowi Logan and Kahnekahawi had three points each and Meg Martin two. For the Larries, Maggie Yandoh scored 19 points and Marissa McLean 18.

Two nights later, the Lady Raiders defeated visiting Potsdam 47-34 in a game that was also the Lady Raiders' Cystic Fibrosis Night. LeGrow was the game's leading scorer with 16 points, followed by Paige Perry with eight, Trumble and Eubank with seven each, Dumas four, Viskovich three and Ava LaValley two. Potsdam's Hunter Wilson led their scoresheet with 10 points. Massena went on to beat Carthage 55-39 on Feb. 3.

On the ice, the Salmon River boys squadron picked up a win over Norwood-Norfolk and Massena earned one victory out of three games. The Shamrocks' win over N-N on Jan. 29 was in part driven by three power play goals. Dylan Wylie opened scoring 33 seconds into regulation after taking a pass from Tehakwirakarenrons McDonald and Kylie Johnson. Wylie came back with the eventual game-winner at 5:44 on a power play, assisted by McDonald. Rowisonkies Barnes scored again with 3:09 left on the clock in the first period, unassisted. The Icemen's Ty Cotter then took a pass from Ryan VanPatten with just under two minutes left in the frame for N-N's only goal. Cameron Cartier and Jalen Cook notched goals on second-period power plays, along with an even strength goal by Jacob Cook. Tim Cook tallied two assists, and his teammates Matt Harvey, Dillon St. Ann-Spinner, Jalen Cook and Barnes were credited single assists. Salmon River's John Jacobs (11 saves) and Preston Hemlock (16 saves) split goaltender detail. Icemen goalies Thomas Caferella and Stephen Wagstaff fashioned 25 and 13 saves, respectively. Salmon River's Jan. 31 game at Ogdensburg was postponed.

Massena's boys hockey contingent earned a 4-1 win over hosts Potsdam on Jan. 30. Matt Derouchie scored a hat trick in the second period, with assists from Chris Paige, Nick Linstad and Ben Chilton. Linstad, unassisted, scored the fourth Massena goal. Nolan Towne, assisted by Will Varney and Cameron Talcott, scored for Potsdam. Nate Moffitt made 29 saves for the Raiders. For Potsdam, Cole Eakins made 11 saves and Liam Hourihan 22. Three nights later, Massena lost to Canton 2-1 in an overtime game at Massena Arena. Nick Morrell, assisted by Robert Southwick, scored Massena's only goal 6:55 into the second period. Canton's Trey Bessette took a pass from Jack Finnerty and turned it into a tying goal with 3:02 left on the clock, forcing overtime. Sam Martin took a pass from Bobby Wells in sudden death and fired in the game-winning goal. Massena's Moffit turned aside 16 shots. Jerod Burchell, the Canton netminder, posted a 41-save performance. The following night, Massena lost 2-0 in a non-league game to Syracuse City.