From left, SLP's all-stars Ethan Knight, Carson St. Louis, Ayden McCormick and Braydon Harvey pose for a photo following Thursday's final team practice at the Saranac Lake Civic Center. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)

SARANAC LAKE — The Saranac Lake Placid boys hockey team’s season did not end the way they wanted to last week, when they suffered a loss in the sectional semifinals. So the boys decided they wanted to end the year on a much better note.

On Thursday, the team took part in an intra-squad scrimmage at the Saranac Lake Civic Center, where they split up into two squads and competed alongside some of their assistant coaches.

“I think the guys like playing against each other, for that matter, and they push each other, and I think they had a lot of fun,” said SLP’s head coach Josh Spanburgh, who reffed the scrimmage. “I saw some great skill, funny enough, not just play around. Some skill and some great system play, D to D passing, getting their heads up. They all just went out there and played really hard and had a good time.”

SLP officially closed out the season with a 7-11-1 overall record, and while they didn’t end the year with a sectional banner, they’ve made massive strides in the right direction.

This year, four SLP players were honored as Section VII all-stars as they were voted on by the other coaches in the league.

Sophomore Ayden McCormick led the way, as the Section VII’s most valuable player. Fellow sophomore Carson St. Louis and Ethan Knight, a junior, were named to the second team, while junior Braydon Harvey was an honorable mention.

It’s the most amount of all-stars SLP has had in several seasons. In fact, over the past two years, the team had exactly four all-stars.

“It just shows that we have some guys that are working hard and played a great year and they’re being acknowledged for that,” Spanburgh said. “It’s the first time in a long time that we’ve had four players make an all-star selection like that, and to have an MVP among us with Ayden. I’m very proud of that and all of them are very deserving.”

After finishing as a Section VII honorable mention last year, McCormick recorded one of the best seasons by an SLP player since the two schools merged in 2019. The sophomore star recorded a league-high 32 goals, while adding 11 assists for 43 total points en route to his MVP campaign, which he said was such a good feeling to be named.

“I didn’t think it was going to happen toward the end of the season because we had less games than everyone else,” he said. “But it just feels great. The hard work is paying off.”

McCormick shattered Rhett Darrah’s record from the 2019/20 campaign for the most goals in a season by an SLP player (21) since the merger. McCormick is also the first-ever SLP player to record more than 40 points in a season.

“He has such a quick release and he finds the open parts of the net so well,” Spanburgh said. “He’s just a deadly offensive player and every team has got to watch out for him.”

St. Louis, who happened to be linemates with McCormick, chalked up another great season, connecting on 11 goals, while leading the team with 23 assists – for a combined 34 points. His assist total matched Dylan Amell’s record from 2019/20, for the most in a season by an SLP player.

“It’s an honor to be on (the all-star team) out of all the guys they could’ve picked,” St. Louis said.

Throughout St. Louis’ three seasons with the team, he’s recorded 89 points –the most ever by an SLP player since the merger — and has been named to the all-star team all three years now, fiirst as an honorable mention in 2023, and now back-to-back seasons on the second team.

“It just showed that Carson has been one of the best players in this league and on our team for a long time,” Spanburgh said. “I’m just really happy for him to stay there and be acknowledged by the other coaches.”

SLP’s Harvey and Knight, both of whom were assistant captains this season, joined the all-star team for the first time. Spanburgh described them as leaders, who are constantly working their tails off in practice.

“Even though they’re not loud guys, they’re pushing and they lead by example,” he said. “They make other people have to up their level of practice and games because you’ve got guys like Ethan and Braydon out there pushing to the limit to help the team.”

Knight, the lone SLP defenseman to be recognized, had three goals and 14 assists. The junior was key on the team’s special teams unit — power plays and penalty kills — while also having a knack for being clutch. He assisted on both SLP’s goals in its semifinal loss on Feb. 27.

Harvey, who centered the second line, was second on the team in goals with 12, while also adding 12 assists for 24 points. During his time with SLP, Harvey has vastly improved each season, doubling his point total each year.

“It’s an honor to be on the all-star team for the section,” he said. “We’ve worked really hard as a team.”

Looking ahead, the future looks bright for the SLP boys hockey team. The team is expected to have 22 returners, including all four of their all-stars.

“I think we’ve got a pretty prominent future,” Harvey said. “We looked good toward the end and if we can just continue this into next year then we’ll be good.”