Deyo's two goals send Beekmantown to final four

PLATTSBURGH | With just one goal all season, Beekmantown sophomore Jackson Deyo was an unlikely candidate to influence a state playoff game. He did it twice. Deyo scored two goals, including the game-winner, to lift No. 11 Beekmantown to a 3-2 victory over No. 2 Franklin Academy in a NYSPHSAA Division II boys hockey regional Saturday, March 7, at Stafford Ice Arena. Beekmantown (15-6-2) punched its ticket to the final four in Buffalo, where it will face Section I champion Byram Hills (16-5-1) at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at Harborcenter. "You know, I wasn't thinking about scoring two goals, but I was playing for the guy next to me," Deyo said. "It's more about the team than it is about me. "I couldn't ask for a better group. We're going where we want to be, and that's great." Before a crowd of 1,324, Beekmantown closed out a frantic final minute. Trailing 3-1, Franklin Academy head coach Jake Henning pulled freshman goaltender Liam Maloney for an extra attacker with 1:17 left. It paid off when assistant captain Jake Kaska brought the Huskies (19-2-2) within 3-2 with 63 seconds to play. But Beekmantown goaltender Jack Bell stood strong in the final seconds. He finished with 26 saves as the Eagles were outshot 28-18. "I've already played in a regional game and three sectional finals, so honestly I came in with not many nerves," Bell said. "I knew I had to shut it down. The boys in front of me played really well." Beekmantown's penalty kill was flawless, going 4-for-4 without allowing a shot on goal. The Eagles, holding a 2-1 lead midway through the second period, killed off a Franklin Academy 5-on-3 that lasted exactly one minute. "We were really dialed in on what they wanted to do, and we took it away from them," Beekmantown head coach Justin Frechette said. "We wanted to make them uncomfortable and force them to adjust. When you can kill a 5-on-3, a lot of times the momentum swings back to you. I'm proud of our kids for blocking a lot of shots tonight." Beekmantown did not register a shot on goal for the first 10:30 of the game but surged late in the opening period. Deyo opened the scoring with 3:10 remaining in the first, corralling a blocked shot in the slot and rifling it through traffic to give Beekmantown a 1-0 lead. The Eagles doubled their lead just 59 seconds later. Carter Lapier forced a turnover along the boards with a strong forecheck, and Edward Sweenor scooped up the loose puck, circled in front and beat Maloney upstairs. It was the junior's 27th goal and 46th point of the season. "He worked so hard," Sweenor said of Lapier. "I told Carter after I scored, 'That's you more than it is me at this point.' Winning that puck battle against two people and letting me get the puck and finish was huge." Franklin Academy surged back in the second period. Senior captain Jonathan Scharf cleaned up a rebound on the doorstep to cut the Huskies' deficit to 2-1 with 1:43 elapsed. Franklin Academy sophomore Merick Meacham, who led the Huskies in goals (34), points (45) and game-winning goals (6), did not travel with the team. Despite Franklin Academy controlling much of the middle period and holding an 11-4 shots advantage, Deyo struck again with 4:28 remaining. He forced a takeaway at the Beekmantown blue line and raced in alone on a breakaway. Maloney stopped the initial shot, but Deyo stayed with the play and buried his own rebound to restore the Eagles' two-goal lead. Beekmantown took its fourth and final minor penalty just 49 seconds into the third period, but the Eagles' penalty killers delivered once again. Beekmantown is making its first final four appearance since 2017 and the fourth in program history. The Eagles were state runner-up in 2014. "So happy for our kids," Frechette said. "They work so hard year-round. We really focus on the process. Good process leads to good outcomes, and our kids followed the process today and were rewarded. "Super proud of the grit, heart and determination when it got hard. They stepped up and responded."

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Deyo's two goals send Beekmantown to final four

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