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DeutschPOTSDAM — It’s been a historic run for the 2025-26 Franklin Academy team who on Monday reached another milestone by taking its first sectional championship in more than three decades.
The Huskies season was capped off with a giant exclamation point as the team skated off the ice as champions of Section X Division II with a convincing 3-1 victory over the Ogdensburg Blue Devils at the Cheel Arena at Clarkson University in Potsdam. It was the first section championship for the team in 35 years, and comes nearly two weeks after the team clinched it’s first divisional title in 31 years.
The Telegram spoke to Huskies Head Coach Jacob Henning shortly after the victory, and he said the moment is truly a crowning achievement for FA hockey.
“It’s surreal. It’s thirty-five years in the making and it’s special. It means everything. I mean, thirty-five years, that’s a long time. I’m so proud of these guys,” he said, adding that the team was aware of the long drought between championships, and the magnitude of the moment began to sink in before the final horn even sounded. “They knew the history of that one. With eight seconds on the clock, and the final seconds ticking off, the puck was chipped into the end zone, it set in right there. Our boys started freaking out. Then I saw Merick (Meacham) start to skate toward our student section with his gloves coming off, and I said to myself: ‘Oh my God, we did it!’”
Next on tap for the Huskies is the regional championship against the Beekmantown Eagles at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at SUNY Plattsburgh, according to Henning.
THE GAME
Coach Henning explained that the game plan was to get off to a fast start – and it didn’t take long for the Huskies to implement that goal and were the first to get on the scoreboard just more than two minutes after the puck was dropped. Jake Kaska scored at the 14:48 mark on assists by Elijah Henning and Jonathan Scharf to give the Franklin Academy a 1-0 lead.
“We wanted to come out fast and obviously we did a great job of it. That was a pretty sweet play that Kaska scored on. We chipped the puck in and Elijah got in behind the net and Kaska just got himself into perfect ice and shot a one-timer from right in front of the net,” Henning said. “To get that first goal, especially so early in the game, it’s huge. It gives the guys confidence. You come in with a plan, and when you strike early like that, it feels good for the boys. I thought when we scored that goal it kind of got the boys going, vibes were high. I think it really settled the nerves for the boys. We talk about our identity being our team defense and goaltending, so it was critical to come out and score a quick one.”
Henning said although the initial frame ended with a Huskies lead, the team could have had a larger cushion.
“I thought we had a really good first period. We were only up 1-0, and thought we deserved a little better out of it,” he said. “I thought we had some really good chances to score more.”
In the second period, it was again the Huskies that dominated the scoreboard, and they were ignited by two quick strikes as two of their top players came through in the clutch.
First Elijah Henning banged in a rebound for a goal, assisted by Kaska and Scharf again, at the 12:10 mark. Then exactly two minutes later, the team’s high-scorer on the season Merick Meacham came off the bench and scored a goal on assists by Colt King and Parker Russell.
And just like that, Franklin Academy had a 3-0 lead – and the lightning-fast goals helped carry the Huskies into the third period.
“That was a big momentum swing to score back-to-back like that. It was great that we had those quick goals.” Coach Henning said, adding that the players followed his message entering the second. “I said to just keep on doing our thing. I thought we had a great period. I just told them to keep playing their game, and that was the message going into the third as well.”
Going into the final frame, Henning said he knew the Blue Devils were going to fight hard to get back into the game. and he was correct as OFA refused to go down without a fight, and managed to get on the scoreboard on a goal by Gavin Moran, cutting the Huskies lead to 3-1 with still more than 11 minutes left on the clock.
“We knew we were going to get a hard push from OFA, and we did. I thought they were fantastic in the third period but we weathered the storm and we got it done. I thought we played a great first and second period, and then weathered the storm in the third,” he said. “Going into the third, that was the longest seventeen minutes of my life. I trust the guys, I trust them to get it done. OFA pushed, they had an awesome third period.”
According to Henning, besides the entire team’s steadfast commitment to defense, there was one final wall preventing OFA from scoring – and that last line of defense was goalie Liam Maloney.
“Liam made some incredible saves. Time definitely slows up in a game like that. He was seeing pucks really well,” the coach said. “The couple of high-danger chances that we gave up, he was unbelievable again. I can’t rave enough about him, he was just awesome.”
Indeed, no more goals would be scored on this night, as the Huskies held off the Blue Devils and skated to a joyous celebration, and the sectional championship trophy to hold.
Once again, goaltender Maloney shined between the pipes, making 34 saves in the game, as he stymied the Blue Devils and nearly took his second straight playoff shutout — he blanked Massena last week to bring the Huskies to the championship game.
Henning had nothing but praise for the efforts of both teams.
“Our guys were prepared, and that’s a great hockey team (OFA). We knew they’d come out, we knew they wanted to win just like us. They’re a program that has won a lot of section titles and had success. We knew they’d give us a good third period and they did just that,” he said. “Defensively we weathered the storm. We had a game plan and I think the boys did an excellent job. It was a special win. Our guys answered the bell.”
FUTURE FOCUS
The Sectional Championship caps a successful run for the local hockey team, which clinched its first Division II title in 31 years with an 11–1-1 league mark and a 17-1-2 overall record. It was the first division title for the Huskies hockey program since the 1994-95 team had the division’s best record and the first sectional championship since the 1991 team earned that achievement.
For Henning, the victory was more than a championship win, it added validity to years of work – both for the players and coaching staff – and he said he hope this is just the start of similar triumphs.
“It’s nice to see years of hard work pay off. I’ve known a lot of these kids since they were young, I’ve watched most of these seniors, I’ve watched all these kids grow up. It’s so special to see them to be the team that got this done. and I hope for our young guys that this is not the only title that we win. We should have a good team for years to come,” he said. “It means everything to us, it me means everything to our culture, just to keep looking to the future and to keep winning and developing players. It’s awesome. I’m on cloud nine about it.”