State Tournament History

In the semi finals, an explosive second period helped Skaneateles overcome Batavia/Notre Dame United 7-2 in Saturday’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association Division II Hockey semifinal. Trailing 1-0 early in the first period, the Lakers tied the game at one in the final minute of the first before skating away with things in the second. Goals from Luke Mizro and Cole Palmer, along with a couple of tallies from Jack Torrey, both assisted by Mizro, helped Skaneateles seize a 5-1 advantage entering the final stanza.

Midway through the third, Milovidov scored his second goal of the game to trim the B/ND deficit to 5-2 with 11:08 remaining, but Skaneateles added 2 more tallies before the period was through to make it a 7-2 game.  That helped Skaneateles lock up the game by a five-goal margin to finish Batavia/Notre Dame’s season at 22-3. Skaneateles is now 23-1 and advanced to the NYSPHSAA Div. II title game, where it met the winner of Queensbury and Byram Hills.

In the finals, Skaneateles rolled to a 5-1 victory against Queensbury. As in its 7-2 semifinal win over Batavia Notre Dame United, Skaneateles did not fly out of the gate in the title game, but kept the game scoreless until going in front 10:48 into the first period, Noah Testa netting just his third goal of the season assisted by Casey Morrissey and Andrew Falkenberg.

Queensbury, who beat New Paltz 4-2 in the other semifinal to get this far, pulled even with a power-play goal early in the second, but immediately the Lakers answered the Spartans with Andrew Gaglione’s second goal of the weekend, assisted by Jack Torrey. It put Skaneateles ahead for good.

A few minutes later, Cole Palmer made it 3-1 off a feed from Jack Marquardt, and the duo of Gaglione and Torrey returned to connect on a second goal to further increase the margin.

Every single game was a showcase for the sheer variety of contributors the Lakers counted on, and this was no different as a great pass from Trevor Jensen set up Braedan Taggart’s third-period goal that clinched yet another state crown to make the final score 5-1. Andrew Gaglione, Jack Torrey, Andrew Falkenberg, Danny Angelina were all named to the All Tournament team with Gaglione as the all tournament MVP. 

In the semi-finals, Suffern took on a tough Massena team. Down 2-0 in the opening frame,

Suffern scored 2 quick goals to tie the game after one. The game remained deadlocked after 2,

with some stellar goaltending from both sides. Suffern broke through in the third to take the

lead, and their spot in the state final with a 3 goal outburst. Suffern advanced to the state finals,

for the third consecutive year, with a 5-2 victory and a 45-14 shot advantage after a very

physical battle.

In the other semi final, Orchard Park defeated McQuaid Jesuit 3-2 in Overtime, outshooting

them 41-24, to advance to the state championship game, pitting two of the top programs in New

York State in a clash for the title.

In the title game, Orchard Park struck first, taking a 1-0 lead. Orchard Park was on the verge of

making it 2-0, after being awarded a penalty shot late in the first, but were thwarted after a big

save by Nick Downey. Suffern then capitalized on a power play to knot the game at 1 with :08

left in the first. Suffern made a strong push in the second, scoring 3 goals and taking a 4-1 lead

after 2. Orchard Park got back into the game on a 3rd period power play goal, making it 4-2.

Suffern killed off a long 5 on 3 and tacked on two empty netters to make it 6-2, icing the game

and the state title, their second in 3 years and fourth in program history!

Skaneateles Lakers

In the semifinals, Skaneateles played a very tough team in Salmon River. Skaneateles got on the board first with 8 1/2 minutes Left on a break-away by Henry Major. Salmon River then scored the next two goals and in the second period Skaneateles tied it up on a 2 on 1… Henry Major fed Alex Whitlock for the game tying goal. With less than three minutes left, Skaneateles scored on the power-play with a nice tic-tac-toe play… Scored by Andrew Gaglione from Alex Whitlock and Henry Major. Chad Lowe stopped 31 shots for the win. 

In the finals, Skaneateles got off to a quick lead with goals from Henry Major, Andrew Falkenberg, and Alex Whitlock. In the second period Alex Whitlock scored again to make it 4-0. Chad Lowe was phenomenal in net again, only giving up one goal late in the second. 

All tournament team from Pelham was Reid Finster and Griffin Evans, and for 

Skaneateles was Chad Lowe, Alex Whitlock, Andrew Falkenberg, and Andrew Gaglione. All Tournament MVP was Henry Major who had a point in all the Laker goals on the weekend, finishing with a two-game total of 2 goals and 5 assists. 

This is Skaneateles’s fifth state championship title.

West Genesee Wildcats

The West Genesee boys hockey team is back in the state championship game after defeating Pittsford 3-0 in the Division I state semifinal on Saturday at LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo.  Neither team was able to get anything going for the majority of the game. The teams both could not score a goal for the first two periods of play. 

West Genesee’s Luke Beck continued his magnificent playoff run in goal for the Wildcats. The sophomore posted 22 saves in his third-straight shutout and has allowed just four goals in West Genesee’s five playoff games this season.

With just over six minutes left in the game, Liam Burns scored his 21st goal of the year to put the team ahead. “(Scoring first) was really important, especially because the first goal didn’t come to the third period,” Colabufo said. “If you score first, you can kind of manage the game a little easier and you’re not chasing the scoreboard. Less than a minute later, Owen Zoanetti netted a goal to stretch the lead and give the Wildcats some breathing room. With Pittsford desperation mode, the team took its goalie out, but West Genesee capitalized. With just under two minutes to go, Will Schneid scored to put the Wildcats up 3-0 and seal the win.

West Genesee (22-3) now advanced to the state title game where they faced defending state champion Suffern who beat the Wildcats in last year’s championship game. Aside from last year’s championship, Suffern also defeated West Genesee earlier this season.

The West Genesee boys hockey earned its fourth state championship and first since 2010 on Sunday at LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo. Suffern bested West Genesee in last year’s title game and earlier this season, but the Wildcats avenged its losses with a 6-0 win over the Mounties in the Division I state championship game. Unlike their semifinal game on Saturday, the Wildcats were able to get on the scoreboard early and often in the state championship. William Schneid scored two first-period goals. His goals were assisted by Owen Zoanetti, Jared Jaeger, Liam Burns and Jack Mellen.  Schneid finished the game with a hat trick and was named tournament MVP.

The team and many of its loyal Pelican fans ventured up to Buffalo for the semifinals and finals in a six-hour journey to watch the team. The team played in the LECOM Harborcenter, the practice rink of the Buffalo Sabers. In the semifinal game, Pelham got a fast start against the Queensbury team with two goals in 41 seconds. They went on to defeat Queensbury 7-1.

The next day, in the Division II finals, Pelham took down Starpoint 7-6 in overtime with a sudden death shot scored by team captain senior Ben Rosenberg.

At the end of the first period, Starpoint had the lead 2-1 with one goal from sophomore Griffin Evans. The second period, Pelham came back with three goals from Ben Rosenberg, junior captain Luke Green and junior defenseman Eric Elbery. Starpoint took the lead to end the second 5-4. It was quickly tied up in the beginning of the third with a goal by sophomore Will Crotty.

Junior Louie Marcellino, who received Division II NYS Player of the Year, scored a goal allowing Pelham to take the lead. Starpoint tied it up at the end of the third quarter, sending the game to overtime.

In a nail-biting sudden death, a Starpoint player was sent to the penalty box on a tripping call. The Pelicans were then able to capitalize on their opponent’s mistake. Louie Marcellino found Captain Ben Rosenberg across the ice in front of the net, where he scored the game winning goal to bring home the title for the Pelicans.

Suffern Mounties 

The semifinal saw Suffern take the ice against Shenendehowa. Suffern struck first, holding the
lead until the final minute of the period. Shen answered with :48.5 seconds left to end the
period tied 1-1. Suffern Stormed out of the locker room, depositing two pucks into the back of
the net to take a 3-1 lead into the third period. Shenendehowa rallied after falling into a three
goal deficit to make things tight late in the period. Ryan Schelling potted his fourth goal of the
game to secure the win for Suffern 5-3, and send them to the state championship game.
In the other semifinal, West Genesee took on Victor in a low scoring affair. The game was
deadlocked 0-0 heading into the third period. West Genesee got on the board and clamped
down on the defensive side of the puck to earn their trip to the state championship game with a
1-0 victory.
In the state title game, West Genesee scored 2 first period goals to take a 2-0 lead into the
second. Suffern stormed out of the locker room and netted 3 second period goals to take a 3-2
lead into the final frame. Some timely penalty killing by the Mounties paved the way for them to
seal the victory with two more third period goals, bringing the state title back to Suffern for the
first time in 10 years, and the 3rd time in their history!

No Tournament held, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

No Tournament held, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Game 1 of the division 2 Frozen four pitted John Jay (Section 1) verses Queensbury (Section 2), where Queensbury defested John Jay 4-0.  Game 2 had #2 ranked Webster Thomas (Section 5) take on #1 ranked Skaneateles (Section 3).  Lead by Captain Luke Lynn with a natural hat trick, Skaneateles took the semifinal game 5-2 to set up Queensbury verses Skaneateles in the Sate Championship game.

After a scoreless first period, Skaneateles finally broke through in the second period with a power play goal by senior Ryan Gick on a beautiful feed from Charlie Russell.  Skaneateles would score two more in the second with their trademark back-to-back goals in less than a minute as Cole Heintz (from Luke Lynn and Jack Henry) and Luke Lynn scored 40 seconds apart.

In the third period Garrett Krieger (assisted by Charlie Russell and Charlie Major) would score on the power play to give Skaneateles a 4-goal lead.  Late in the third Skaneateles would go on to bury two more goals on back-to-back 5 on 3 power play goals, the first by Luke Lynn from Bauer Morrissey and Owen Van Holtz, and 19 seconds later Jack Henry from Bauer Morrissey.  Queensbury would finally break the shutout with a goal from Brenden Duffy with 17 Seconds left.  Queensbury goalie Owen Smith would finish with 13 saves and Chris Falso with 2.

In the semifinals, we saw a powerful Suffern Mounties vs. Canton Golden Bears.  This game started out in Canton’s favor with an early 3-1 lead.  Whatever reason that seemd to spark greatness among the Mounties, who rallied off an 8-3 rout of Canton to move into the State Championship game.  In the game two of the division 1 frozen four, Syracuse Cougars from Section 3 took on Orchard Park Quakers of Section 6. This game started out scoreless, as both goalies were outstanding in net to keep the pucks out.  This all ended when Syracuse jumped out to a 4- lead in the second period and never looked back.  The Cougars notched another goal in the third to cap it off with a 5-1 win, sending them to the State Championship finals.  Everyone was looking forward to what was to come in the championship game between Suffern and Syracuse.

In the finals, it was much of the same story between Syracuse and Suffern.  There was outstanding defensive play by both teams and goaltenders.  The scored was tied 0-0 after the first period.  The second period proved to be Syracuse’s favorite period in the State tournament.  Once again taking over the game and jumped out to a 2-1 lead.  The Cougars solidified their lead with 2 more goals in the third period to win by a score of 4-2 against an outstanding Suffern Mounties team.  Congratulations to the Suffern Mounties on a well played season!

The Sweet Home Panthers won their first State Championship in front of their home crowd at The Harbor Center in Buffalo, New York.  This was the second time oin team history that the Panthers have made it to the Final Four.  They earned the trip after beating a tough Northeastern Clinton team 3-1 oin the Regional game at the Cougars home rink.  Tyler Edholm led the way with a pair of goals.

West Seneca West defeated John Jay in the New York State Regional Finals by a scroe of 3-0.  Tyler Dunning opened the scoring for West on the power play halfway through the second period.  Matt Myers gave West some breathing room in the third and Colin Deubell added a third with about 4 minutes remaining to put the game away.  Noah Sobczyk was perfect in net stopping all 24 shots he faced to pick up the shutout.  West now advances to their first State Championship final where they will take on fellow Section 6 rival Sweet Home.

In the semifinal game, the Panthers took on a very talented Auburn team.  Sweet Home took the lead after one even after being out shot 16-8 on a short handed goal scored by Blake Russo.  Auburn kept the pressure on in the second period with a pair of early goals, but the Panthers were able to tie the game at 2 with a late goal by Dan Lund, which was his only goal of the year.  The Sweet Home offense came to life oin the third, thaks to Tyler Edholm’s natural hat trick.  Strong defensive play by Andrew Czyz and timely saves by goalie Mike Lisman, the Panthers were able to hold player of the year, Jake Morin, to only one assist. A late empty net goal by Eric Abbate sealed the 6-4 win and Sweet Home’s first trip to the championship game.

In the Championship game, Sweet Home faced a familiar foe in West Seneca West who had beaten the Panthers two weeks prior in the Section 6 Championship game.  The Indians jumped out to an early 2-0 lead but Tyler Edholm scored back-to-back power play goals to tie the game at two.  The panthers got their first lead on an early power play goal from Kyle Neudorf and never looked back.  Second period goals from Blake Russo, Eric Abbate and a third period power play goal from Tyler Edholm allowed Sweet Home to increase their lead to 6-2.  Kyle Neudorf scored his second goal of the game in the third period and the Panthers held on to win their first State Championship with a score of 7-5.

Special teams were critical in the Panthers two victories.  They scored 5 power play goals and one short handed goal, while only allowing 1 power play goal against two high scoring opponents.  Tyler Edholm was named tournament MVP while scoring 6 goals and 1 assist obver the two days.

An unbelieveable experience was provided for all teams participating in the frozen four.  Buffalo and Section 6 continues to do an outstanding job providing an “NHL Experience” for our student-athletes.  Memories that will last lifetime.

Our program (Victor Hockey) was fortunate to earn a spot in this year’s frozen four.  Our players have created a culture of Positivity, Accountability, and Commitment (PAC). Through this model, they not only earned the opportunity to compete for a state title, they won the state title.  Our hockey community is so proud of these young men.

Semi-Final – Niagara Wheatfield vs. North Rockland.  This was the first game of the day.  Both teams played a strong defensive first period.  Niagara Wheatfield brotke through taking a 1-0 lead.  Niagara Wheatfield continued to pressure North Rockland during the second period scoring 2 more goals taking a 3-0 lead into the second intermission.  North Rockland had numerous opportunities, but Niagara Wheatfield’s goaltender was outstanding making 19 saves for the shutout.  Niagara Wheatfield added a powerplay goal in the 3rd period making the final score 4-0.  This was North Rockland’s first trip to the final four.  They had a great season.

Semi-Final – Victor vs. Massena. Both teams played earlier in the season @ Massena Arena skating to a 1-1 tie.  A great game played by two teams that mirror each other.  In the semifinals, Massena jumped out to a first period 2-0 lead.  Massena scored a powerplay goal 5 minutes intoi the game and then followed this up with another goal 5 minutes later heading to the locker room with a 2 goal lead.  This was the first time all season Victor was down by more than 1 goal. Victor came out strong in the 2nd period applying pressure and eventually scoring a goal to cut the lead in half.  The teams headed to intermission with Massena up 2-1.  Victor came out of the locker room with confidence to start the 3rd period scoring 2 quick powerplay goals by Josh Albert and Lukas Miller to take a 3-2 lead.  Victor had capitalized on a 5 on 3 to give them their first lead of the game with just under 11 minutes to go.  Massena applied pressure late in the 3rd period, but Victor’s goaltender Chayse Ierlan (State Player of the Year) kept them off the scoreboard.  Victor added an empty net goal to finish the scoring 4-2.  It was a great game played by both teams.  Congratulations to Massena for a great season!

Finals – Victor vs. Niagara Wheatfield – This was Victor’s first time in the state championship.  The atmosphere was electric with two western New York teams competing for their first state championship.  The first period was back and forth with both goaltenders making outstanding saves to keep the score at 0-0.  Both teams had chances.  The 2nd period started out the same.  Niagara Wheatfield struck first with a shot from the point that was deflected in to give them a 1-0 lead.  Victor stormed back with Sam Lambert scoring 4 minutes later.  The goal was a tic-tac-toe one time shot to tie the score.  Josh albert scored on the powerplay minutes later to give Victor a 2-1 lead.  Aston Collazo then scored on a great individual effort to put Victor up 3-1.  This is how both teams headed to the locker room.  The 3rd period as a battle.  Both teams applied heavy pressure with both goalies keeping the score the same.  With 3 minutes to go, Sam Lambertscore his second goal of the game to put Victor up 4-1.  The Victor fans could start to taste victory.  Ashton Collazo added an empty net goal, his second goal of the game, to make the final score 5-1.  Victor then celebrated their first state championship!  Victor finished the season undefeated with a record of 22-0-4.  Congratulations to both teams on an outstanding season.

Pelham High School Barreled into Buffalo riding high on a 23 game winning streak. After dropping their opening game to Suffern on the road despite outshooting the Mounties 52-9 Pelham ran off 23 straight victories. Many against ranked Division I teams. Pelhams impressive season, with convincing  victories during the regular season over St. Anthonys of Long Island, defending Division I Champions Mamaroneck, Skaneateles and Final Four finalist Massena, made Pelham a favorite going into the Division II Finals. In the first game against a high scoring talented Brockport, Pelham jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Will Case and Ben Hurd. In the Second period Natty Heintz, Ben Hurd and Michael Mac Innis scored giving Pelham a commanding 5-0 lead heading into the third period. Pelham added a 6^th goal in the third for a 6-0 final. Junior and tournament MVP Stefan Miklakos had 5 points for Pelham. Brockport wasn’t able to crack Pelhams defense, getting shutout by Goalie Justin Ming, mustering only 18 shots against the stingy Pelicans

In the final against a solid St. Lawrence club, Pelham totally dominated the game outshooting the Larries 43-7. St. Lawrence, (21-2-1) got to the Championship by rolling over Beekmantown 6-0 getting three goals by Luke Collins.  The Larries hung tough, and after Pelhams Natty Heintz opened the scoring on a feed from Miklakos and Hurd, theLarries Ian Bressette answered to tie the score at 1. Stefan Miklakos scored a huge shorthanded goal, assisted by Ben Hurd to send Pelham into the lockerroom after two periods with a 2-1 lead. The third period was all Pelham capping off one of the most dominsnt performances of any team in the state finals. Pelham scored 5 times in the third period, outshooting the Larries 17-2. Miklakos scored his second goal of the game on a feed from Heintz and Hurd. Gibson Smith blasted a slapper from the point on the power play from Miklakos making it 4-1 Pelham. Hurd and Miklakos would score again in three minutes time, Miklakos completing the hat trick, Drew Montanarella netted the 7^th Pelham tally as Pelham claimed the Division 2 State Championship finishing with a 25-1 mark, outscoring their opponents 158 to 27 during the 26 game season

In the last 17 years that they have been eligible, the Williamsville North Spartans captured their fifth state division I crown in 2017, behind solid defense and goaltending throughout the championship weekend.

In the semifinal matchup, the Spartans faced the number one ranked team – defending state champs Mamoroneck.  The Tigers had only been defeated once all season entering the semi-final contest.

An unlikely hero for Williamsville North, junior Trevor Cavalier, picked a great time to net his first marker of the season by tipping in a Joe Oliver pass from the right corner.  Cavalier’s tally would be enough as the stingy Spartan defense kept Mamoroneck off the board killing off six Tiger power plays.  North goalie Jake Zurat recorded the shutout stopping 13 shots.

The victory put Williamsville North in its 8^th championship in the last 17 years, with their neighbor from Western New York, Pittsford. Pittsford advanced to the finals over Massena with a 2-1 margin.

In the finale, Pittsford jumped out early to a 1-0 lead before the Spartans scored three straight times from juniors Brett Sardina and Andrew Bruno and the game winner from senior Adam Batz late in the second period.  Pittsford would add a second goal in the final frame, but again the Williamsville North defense turned back four Panther power plays while Zurat made 13 saves for the state championship title.

The three top ranked Division II teams in the state met at Harbor Center in Buffalo for the Division II crown. In the semi-finals Kenmore East with a high powered offense rolled over the Lake Placid Blue Bombers 11-0.  AJ Marinelli had 4 goals and 4 assists for Kenmore East while Trevor Pray had 3 goals and 3 assists. In the other semi-final, Skaneateles was down 1-0 after two periods following a short-handed goal by Pelham’s Gibson Smith. Skaneateles scored three unanswered goals in the third period to defeat Pelham 3-1. Lakers forward Ray Falso scored the go ahead goal halfway through the third period. This was a fantastic game with goalkeepers on both ends making outstanding saves.

The Final proved to be one of the most exciting games in tournament history. After a scoreless first period Skaneateles grabbed the lead in the second on a goal by Reggie Buell. Kenmore East goaltender Brad Hermann and Skaneateles netminder Bennett Morse were solid in net. The Bulldogs of Kenmore East tied it with 9:55 left in the third on a beautiful goal by forward Russ Riggio. 2015 Player of the Year Ray Falso answered two minutes later with a blistering shot in the top corner to give the Lakers the lead once again. Skaneateles took an unfortunate penalty with 5:06 remaining and Kenmore East capitalized quickly on the power play with a goal by Captain Trevor Pray assisted by AJ Marinelli and Anthony Tulipane. The game remained tied 2-2 after regulation time. After several chances by both teams, Kenmore East forward Trevor Pray blasted home a rebound six minutes into overtime after a Marinelli shot hit the crossbar and bounced down right near the stick of Pray. The celebration was on as the Kenmore East players piled onto the ice. Pray celebrated the victory with his Dad and Head Kenmore East Coach Kyle Pray. Trevor Pray was named tournament MVP and was selected NY State Player of the Year. His Dad Kyle was named NY State Coach of the Year. This was the second state title for Kenmore East. Four years earlier they won the 2012 Championship in Utica.

Div 1 State Final Four which featured New York State ranked 2-5, In first game #2 ranked Mamaroneck (Sec-1) took on #5 ranked Pittsford (Sec-5) in the semi-finals, the game featured special teams affair with Mamaroneck scoring 3 power play goals and Pittsford scoring 2, But it was Mamaroneck’s Matt Diccicco’s short handed goal that gave Mamaroneck back the lead and all the momentum in a 5-2 Mamaroneck win.
John Mozrall and Ryan Warpole scored power play goals for Pittsford. Mamaroneck’ Alex Ewald scored 2 power play goals while Will Kirk added 1.  Will Kirk and Alex Ewald each had 3 points in the game.  Kesin Ryan-Dehejia even strength goal was the game winner, only even strength goal of game.  Both goalies were busy Aiden Richardson had 33 saves for Pittsford, Tommy Spero had 38 saves for Mamaroneck.

The other semi-finals game featured #2 ranked West Genesee (Sec-3) and #4 ranked Saratoga (Sec-2).  West Genesee ‘s Ryan McDonald had 1st minute goals in two opening periods which was never tied up by Saratoga, whose goal was scored by Brandon Coffey on the power play.  West Genesee’s defense held Saratoga to 7 shots in the game, West Genesee went on to win 5-1.

The Div 1 Championship game was a classic defensive struggle lead by West Genesee’s team defense which yielded only 10 shots and 1 goal, scored early in first at 3:52 mark by Mamaroneck’s sophomore Michael Carducci on a feed from Will Kirk and Jason Biestock. The first period ended 1-0 Mamaroneck- a very physical period which yielded 5 shots by West Genny and 4 by Mamaroneck.
In the second period, West Genny came out on a mission, pressed hard and took 18 shots on goal, but Mamaroneck’s goalie Tommy Spero (1st team All-State) stopped all 18 shots to preserve a 1-0 lead.
In the third period, both teams were flying around the ice, each team recorded 4 shots on goal, the game ended with a last second shot save by Tommy Spero and gave Mamaroneck its first Division-1 New York State Title!!
West Genesee’s Ryan McDonald, Matt McDonald, Mamaroneck’s Tommy Spero and Will Kirk were all named to Div 1 1st team ALL-State team, Sammy Colubufo (West Genesee) Alex Ewald (Mamaroneck) were both named 2nd team, Patrick McDonald was named HM All-State.

 West Genesee’s Ryan and Matt McDonald, joined Mamaroneck’s Tommy Spero, Will Kirk Michael Carducci, Jake Levine on the New York State All-Tournament team. Mamaroneck’s Will Kirk was named Division-1 Player of the year, while Mamaroneck Michael Chiapparelli and long time asst Art Bruno were named Division-1 Coach of the Year.

Webster-Schroeder-2, Beekmantown Eagles-0
The Beekmantown Eagles (Section VII) were able to reach the Final Four in Utica for the second consecutive season in 2014. After falling to eventual champion CBA-JD in the 2013 Semi-Finals, they rallied to defeat the Section III Champion Auburn Maroons 2-1 in Saturday’s first Semi-Final contest to advance into the State Title Game against Webster Schroeder (Section V). The Warriors were making their first trip to the Final Four in school history and earned a birth in the State Championship Game by defeating the Section II Queensbury Spartans 3-1 in the second Semi-Final contest of the evening. Beekmantown had registered come-from-behind wins in three of its first four postseason games. The Eagles, though, ran out of magic at the wrong time Sunday. Behind two first-period goals from Webster captains Joseph Schuler and Jeremy Caulkins, No. 2 ranked Webster Schroeder held off the No. 1 ranked Beekmantown’s (19-5-1) late-game surge to capture their school’s first NYSPHSAA Division II Ice Hockey Championship at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. Schuler put the Warriors        (18-7-2) on the board at 7:59 of the first period with a short-handed goal, slipping around a Beekmantown defenseman and beating goaltender Dustin Plumadore on the short side. It remained a 1-0 game until Caulkins netted a power-play goal at 12:56. A senior forward, Caulkins went uncovered on the doorstep, allowing him to fire a shot blocker side. Beekmantown outshot Webster Schroeder, 15-9, inside the final 30 minutes of regulation. Despite facing multiple odd-man rushes, Warriors goaltender Ryan Beutel stood tall on each occasion. Beutel, a junior, was credited with 19 saves to collect the shutout. After surrendering only six goals in three NYSPHSAA games, he was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.  The Eagles were held scoreless on three power-play chances, including a 6-on-4 opportunity with an extra attacker on the ice for the final 36.2 seconds of play, but were unable to score.  With 2:54 remaining in the game, a Beekmantown goaltender change occurred after Dustin Plumadore left the ice with an ankle injury. Ben Frederick, a junior, entered the game in relief, totaling three saves. After collecting their first Section V title, the Warriors secured their first-ever state championship. In six postseason games, they were behind on the scoreboard for all of 62 seconds, which occurred in the sectional quarterfinals. Beekmantown’s Nathan Foster was named the NYSPHSAA Division II Player of the Year, while also being selected to the All-State Team and All-Tournament Team. Beekmantown’s Josh Barriere and Webster-Schroeder’s Ryan Beutel, Ryan Winn and Joseph Schuler were also honored as members of the 2014     All-Tournament Team.  Beekmantown’s Head Coach Justin Frechette was selected as the 2014 D-II Coach of the Year.

Division I – Semi-Finals  Massena 2 – Fairport 1 OT. In this semi-Final matchup of Red Raider teams, both would score in the first period, with Fairport striking first at the 10:58 minute mark when Cameron Gebhardt scored a short-handed tally with the assist going to Quinn Weidmeir and Tyler Sullivan. Then, in a late period surge, Massena countered back with three (3) seconds remaining on a goal from Patrick Manning and assists going to Jordan Robert and Wyatt Wilmshurst.  Both teams continually battled back and forth with end to end action through the next two frames of this hard nosed and gritty battle. In the dying minutes of the game Fairport had a point blank scoring opportunity on a pass to the high slot but the shot was thwarted by Massena’s goaltender Connor Paquin.  The overtime saw the high tempo action continue until the 3:50 mark when Massena defenceman Devin Page rushed the puck into the Fairport zone cutting to the left and firing a slap shot against the grain on Fairport goaltender Ethan Kaiser.  The rebound kicked out to left side of the net where Massena Captain Tyler Young made no mistake, hammering it home short side for the win, sending Massena to the Finals against Ithaca.  In the previous semi-final game, Ithaca (Section 4) defeated Scarsdale (Section 1) with a score of 6-4.

Division 1 – Final   Massena 4 – Ithaca 1 In a match-up of the two programs with 5 State Championships each, one team would skate away as the winningest Division 1 program in the State. Ithaca struck first at the 9:58 mark of the first period as Nate Walker took a pass from Scott Partington and broke into the zone around the Massena defender.  Cutting hard to the net he snapped a shot short side high past Massena’s Connor Paquin for the go ahead goal, Charlie Estill was also credited with an assist on the play. Coming into the second period down by a goal, Massena went on the power play 17 seconds in. It didn’t take long once Massena set up in the Zone when Tyler Young passed down to Ryan Thomas on the left side who rifled a shot at Ithaca goalie Brandon Kasel.  Kasel made the initial save and rebound attempt by Patrick Manning on the back hand but couldn’t handle the repeated effort of Manning who scored on his next attempt to even the score. Approximately seven minutes later in the same frame Massena’s Tyler Young broke into the zone on a scoring attempt rushing the puck up the right wing and getting a shot on goal from the right face-off circle. Kasel made the short-side save and the puck landed on the netting at the base of the goal. Young stuck with it and fed a centering pass into the slot to Dylan Stone and he made no mistake depositing the puck into the back of the net with 7:07 left in the second period. This eventual game winner was backed up by two insurance goals in the third period. First the combination of Wyatt Wilmshurst, Jordan Robert and Patrick Manning combined for Manning’s second goal of the game with 4:13 to go and then Ryan Thomas’ empty netter with 49 seconds remaining secured a 6^th State Championship for the Red Raiders as they completed their 19-5-1 season.

CBA/J-D came from behind a 3-1 deficit to defeat Beekmantown 4-3 in a thriller. Ryan Durkin scored a goal late in the third and the game-tying goal with 6 seconds left in regulation. Freshman Sam Mueller scored the game-winner 6:37 seconds into overtime on a laser wrist shot that beat goal tender Dustin Plumadore. Nate Foster’s hat trick was not enough for Beekmantown .
In the other semi-final,section 1’s John Jay Cross River rallied from a 4-1 deficit to score 5 goals during a 7 minute span to defeat St Lawrence Central and advance to there first ever championship game.

In the championship game between CBA/J-D and John Jay Cross River it was CBA/J-D who rallied with 3 goals in the third period to win there first state championship. Trailing 2 to 1 after two periods, The Brothers/Rams scored on a power-play goal with 77 seconds into the third. Tournament MVP sophomore Braeden Doust scored on a loose puck that he saw in front and took a good whack at it and it found the back of the net to tie things up at 2. It was Braden Doust again scoring on a 2 on 1 break with 9:35 left in the game to go up 3-2. The Brothers would get an empty net goal late to seal the victory. Goaltender Tim Decker was solid in net with eight saves in the third and 23 saves overall. As the final seconds expired, the brothers celebrated by throwing their helmets gloves and sticks in the air. Equipment littered the ice,all while players found Decker along the boards for the biggest and greatest of dog piles. CBA/J-D Winning the state championship was a huge Cinderella story.

After a hard hitting and scoreless 1st period, the Massena Red Raiders
(Sec-10) took a 1-0 lead early in the 2nd period on a goal scored by Ryan
Moffitt.  McQuaid (Sec-5) responded by taking over offensively with two goals in
the 2nd.  Ben Korpiels recorded his 1st varsity goal, followed by the eventual
game winner by Ryan Talty. The Knights added 3 more goals in 3rd. Freshman Jack
Dugan’s beautiful upper corner snipe was followed by Ryan Talty’s second goal
of the game. Nate Pennington finished the scoring with a power play goal.
Brian Kick made 17 saves to propel the Knights into the 2013 Division 1 Finals vs.
Saratoga (Sec-2)

The Saratoga Blue Streaks return to their fourth consecutive NYSPHSAA Frozen Four appearance taking on the State’s #1 ranked team. The Blue Streaks lost a heartbreaker in last year’s semifinal to the Suffern Mounties. In this game, Saratoga came out with a sense of determination and urgency, scoring their first goal with just over three minutes gone in the first period with Matt Flynn scoring a power play goal with an assist from twin brother, Ryan Flynn. At the 7:20 mark of the first period, Ryan Flynn got in on the scoring with assists going to New York State Player of the Year, Tyler Bullard and Brendon Wormley. But less than two minutes later, the Falcon s cut the lead to one with a goal from Michael Parisi and assisted by Anthony Vekich.

But the Blue Streaks came right back, scoring just 37 seconds later, with Ryan Flynn getting his second goal of the game, reclaiming that two goal cushion. The second period went scoreless, with little offense generated by either team. The Saratoga defense was relentless, limiting the Falcons to few scoring chances. Then with a little more than five minutes left in the game, Tyler Bullard scored with an assist from Devin Smith, whose grandfather had passed away earlier in the week in a snowmobile accident. The game was dedicated to Devin’s grandfather, Robert Campbell, as well as Saratoga High School Senior Seth Younes who died in February. The win sent Saratoga to its third Finals appearance in four years.
Finals: Saratoga Blue Streaks – 5 McQuaid – 0

Saratoga was not going to be denied in their third appearance in the finals in the past four years. Saratoga grabbed an early 1-0 lead on tournament MVP Ryan Flynn’s penalty shot, awarded to him after he was taken down on a breakaway only six minutes into the first period. It was all Saratoga the rest of the way. After Matt Flynn’s goal was disallowed after a quick whistle, Ryan Flynn scored his second goal of the game with an assist from his brother, All Tournament team selection, Matt Flynn and Tyler Bullard. The Blue Streaks has a 2-0 lead going into the locker room after the first.
It was all Saratoga coming out for the second period, as they scored their only power play goal of the game by Nick Winters to make it 3-0. The goal was assisted by New York State Second Team selection, Brendon Wormley. At the 12:14 mark of the second period, Matt Flynn scored his first goal of the game with a beautiful feed from his brother, Ryan Flynn, giving the Blue Streaks a commanding 4-0 lead going into the third period.
In the third period, at the 9:40 mark, Matt Flynn finished out the scoring for Saratoga, getting an assist from his brother, Ryan Flynn, once again, putting an exclamation mark on the game. Saratoga outshot McQuaid 33-20 for the game. Dakota Smith was named All Tournament Goalie, giving up only one goal for the weekend, giving Saratoga its first State Championship since 1999.

2012 marked the NYSPHSAA Hockey Championships 25th straight year at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.
In Division 2 Pelham High School (Sec-1) lost a heartbreaker for the second year in a row to the eventual state champion, Kenmore East (Sec-6) 3-2. The two teams were 2-2 going into the third period and played a scoreless third period until Dan Giliforte of Kenmore East netted the game winner with 6:16 left in the first OT.
In the other semi-final game Oswego (Sec-3) held off a scrappy Saranac Lake (Sec-7) 6-4. Josh Sova led Oswego with 4 goals.
In the Division 2 State Championship Final Kenmore East jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead on Oswego and never looked back in a 6-3 win for the division 2 crown. Andy Sturtz paced Kenmore with 3 goals and 2 assists which saw Kenmore build up a 6-1 lead after 2 periods.

Suffern (Sec-1) and West Genesee (Sec-3) battled through three periods and four 8- minute overtimes without a decision before the Mounties broke through in a shootout to defeat the Wildcats 3-2 in an exhausting Division 1 semifinals.
Section 2’s Saratoga Springs tied the game 2-2 with 1:05 left in regulation, but section-5’s Pittsford scored 43 seconds into the first overtime period to win the Division 1 state semifinals, 3-2.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first 13 minutes of play, the Suffern Mounties celebrated their second State Championship in 20-years by scoring three unanswered goals to knock off the Pittsford Panthers 3-2 in the Division 1 title game.

Unbeaten and state-ranked No.1 Williamsville North (Sec-6) scored two third period goals, and then hung on to defeat the No.2 ranked Suffern Mounties (Sec-1) by a score of 3-2 to advance to the state finals.
Saratoga Springs (Sec-2) returns to Utica for the second year in row, and advances to the finals by defeating Greece Thunder (Sec-5) 1-0 in the second semifinal.
Williamsville North, the state’s top rated team in Division 1, also completed an undefeated season with a 3-2 victory over the Saratoga Springs Blue Streaks. The Spartans went 24-0-2 to win the school’s fourth state title.

Defending State Champion and top ranked New Hartford made the most out of the ‘home-ice-advantage’ shutting out Plattsburgh 6-0 in the first semi-final game.
Queensbury returned to the State Tournament for the third time in four years and cruised past Section-10’s St. Lawrence 4-0 to advance to the Division 2 finals.
No.1 Spartans vs. No.2 Spartans. No.1 ranked New Hartford Spartans wins its second straight, third overall, State Title by defeating second-ranked Queensbury Spartans 5-2. Queensbury outshot New Hartford 32-21 but came up short.

Saratoga Springs broke a 3-3 tie with Pittsford on power play goal with 2:37 left in the third and held on to win in the first Division 1 semi-final game.
West Genesee erased a 3-1 Suffern lead by scoring two goals in the final 31 seconds by pulling the goalie and adding the extra attacker. The Wildcats went on to win 4-3 in the first overtime sending them to the finals.
Third time’s a charm. In their third straight trip to the Frozen Four, West Genesee capped a perfect 25-0 season with a 3-0 victory over Saratoga Springs winning its third state championship.
Wins by West Genesee and New Hartford gave Section III two state championships in the same season for the first time in the history of the 30-year-old tournament.

Pelham High School scored two third period goals, 49 seconds apart, to break a 1-1 tie and held on for a 3-2 semifinal victory over Burke Catholic.
Central New York’s, New Hartford Spartans, cruised to a 6-1 semifinal victory over Kenmore East, riding a 19-game winning streak.
No. 1 ranked New Hartford wins its second state hockey title, in front of a packed hometown crowd, by defeating second ranked Pelham in a 6-1 victory.  All six Spartan goals were scored by six different players.  The Spartans finished with a 28-2 record, setting a school record with 28 victories.

Mamaroneck scored four second period goals to break open a 7-2 win over first year Niagara Wheat during the first semi-final game. The Tigers extended their winning streak to 24 games.
J.T. Stenglein’s natural hat trick in the first period gave Greece Thunder the lead as they beat West Genesee 5-2 during the second semi-final game.
Greece Athena/Odyssey battled back from an early two-goal deficit, edging Mamaroneck 3-2 to win the state championship.   The Thunder finished the season, a perfect 27-0, and its first state title since 1996, when Greece split into two teams- Athena/Odyssey Thunder and Arcadia/Olympia Lightning.

In the first semi-final contest Sweet Home rallied to score three goals in the third period to tie the game, only to have Thousand Islands’ forward Ryan Grimshaw score the game winner with just 1:33 seconds left in regulation. Thousand Islands defeats Sweet Home 4-3.
The second semi-final game found Justin Scharfe scoring three goals to lead, #2 state ranked, Webster Thomas past , top ranked, Queensbury 3-1.
In the championship final, Webster Thomas scored four of its five goals on the power play against Thousand Islands and came away with a 5-2 win and their first state championship.

After getting off to a slow start, Massena won its semifinal game 5-3 over Lancaster by scoring three goals within one minute and twenty seconds. The Red Raider barrage started 2:12 into the second period with goals  from Joseph Laffin, Matthew Hatch and Alex Kormanyos.
In the other semi-final contest West Genesee came crashing out of the gate to down Fairport 5-2.  The Wildcats were all over the ice early, intercepting passes, tapping in rebounds, and creating breakaways.
In the finals, Massena got a last-minute goal to beat West Genesee 3-2 in triple-overtime.  Mike Mailhot lifted the puck into the top-right corner of the net with 29 seconds remaining, making the Red Raiders 3-2 winners and Division I state champs for the fifth time.

In semi-final action Evan Roth had three goals and an assist as Canandaigua defeated Queensbury.  Canandaigua scored three goals in the third period to overcome a 2-1 deficit winning 4-2.
In the other semi-final contest five Monroe-Woodbury players scored in the first period  as MW went on to defeat Rye 5-2.
In the finals Monroe Woodbury scored in each period lead by Andrew Himelson who scored two goals, to defeat Canandaigua 4-2.  This was Canandaigua’s first appearance in the state tournament and Monroe-Woodbury’s first state championship.

“OT” was the word for the Division 1 tournament.  In the first semi-final contest Williamsville North scored in each period and overtime to defeat Canton 4-3.  The winning goal was scored at 6:55 of the first overtime.
Goaltending was dominant in the second semi-final contest between Ithaca and Suffern.  Regulation and overtime play could not determine a winner which then ended in a shootout.  Final score: Ithaca 1, Suffern 0.
The finals were a continuation of the semi-finals as Ithaca defeated Williamsville North 2-1 in overtime.

Defending state champion Clinton made the home-town fans happy by defeating Pelham 6-1 in the semi-finals.  Chris Snyder and Derek Lacelle each contributed a goal and two assists to the cause.
In the other semi-final game, Monroe Woodbury, who raised many eyebrows in the regionals by defeating traditional powerhouse Salmon River,  proved that that win was no fluke, as the Crusaders, powered by Nick Belloise’s 3 goals, defeated Buffalo’s Williamsville East 3-2.
With 2700 screaming fans yelling their approval, Clinton came out storming in the championship game, scoring three first-period goals, and never looking back. Nick Snyder’s two first-period goals and a goal by Ian Evans gave the Warriors a lead that proved to be insurmountable. An additional goal by Chris Snyder added to the cushion, as Clinton went on to defeat Monroe Woodbury 4-1, and win their second consecutive state title.  Clinton ended their season enjoying a 16-game winning streak, and, for the second consecutive year, a record of 26-1-3.  Nick Snyder’s  great weekend earned him the Div. 2 tournament MVP award

Aquinas came from behind to defeat Suffern in the semi-finals 4-3.  Suffern overcame a 2-0 deficit by scoring three unanswered goals to take the lead early in the third period. Andy Schmidt then scored his second goal of the game at the ten-minute mark of the third period to tie the game for Aquinas.  Just 15-seconds later, Billy Lemen scored the game winner to send Aquinas into the championship game.
Canton enjoyed a 1-0 lead over Williamsville North after one period in the other semi-final game thanks to a goal by Wade Meagan.  Solid goaltending from Williamsville’s Jordan Komm then kept Canton off the scoreboard as North scored twice in the last five minutes of the second period to take a 2-1 lead.  Two third-period goals by Williamsville North’s Ryan Geary iced the game for the Spartans, as North defeated Canton 4-1.  North goaltender Jordan Komm made 27 saves in an outstanding effort.
The championship game was a grinder, featuring great goaltending at both ends of the rink. Williamsville North’s Ryan Geary scored at 5:26 of the second period on a power play when he redirected a Ryan Clifford shot from the left point that Aquinas goaltender Scott Mertz just missed getting to.  The Spartans made the lead hold up thanks to senior goaltender Jordan Komm, the tournament MVP, with 23 saves, and some clutch penalty killing. The 1-0 final score gave Williamsville North (25-3) it’s third state championship in the last five years.

Salmon River, back in the final four for the fourth time in the last five years, shot out of the gate quickly with a 4-goal first period as they went on to defeat Saranac Lake in the semi-finals 7-2.  Logan Kane’s hat trick and a 5-point game from Nick Montour provided the Shamrocks’ firepower.  Salmon River proved that “crime doesn’t pay” as six of their seven goals were scored on the power play.
Glens Falls, back for the third consecutive year, was no match for hometown favorite Clinton, as Clinton ended the season for the Indians 9-2.  The Warriors were led by two-goal efforts from Sean McKevitt, Ian Evans and Brik Alden.
In the championship game, after a scoreless first period, Clinton’s Ian Evans put the Warriors on the scoreboard.  Salmon River and Clinton then traded goals, but a Salmon River goal by Max Shea with 2.3 seconds remaining in the period had the game deadlocked at 2-2 after 2 periods.   The Shamrocks pulled ahead by a goal from Dwight Bero, but Clinton came back to tie the game again about three minutes later with a goal from Nick Snyder.  Clinton goaltender Gary Dougherty, and Salmon River goaltender Justin Delormier sparkled as regulation time ended with the score knotted at 3-3.  At 4:25 of overtime, Clinton junior Ian Evans scored his second goal of the game to give Clinton the title, and a 20-game unbeaten streak.  It was a gut-wrenching loss for Salmon River, as it was the second straight year that Salmon River lost in the championship game in overtime.  Clinton finished the season with a record of 26-1-3, while Salmon River ended with a record of 20-6-4.  Ian Evans’ great weekend earned him the Div. 2 tournament MVP award

In semi-final action, McQuaid got sweet revenge from an earlier season loss to Shenendehowa by defeating the Plainsmen 5-1.  McQuaid was lead by junior Ryan Flanigan with 2 goals and 1 assist, and 8th grade goaltender Nick Bondurant with 25 saves.
In the other semi-final game, Baldwinsville and Williamsville North played a grinder that wasn’t decided until an empty-net goal by Baldwinsville’s Kevin McCarey with 45 seconds left in the third period gave the Bees a 3-1 win over North.  Bees goaltender Kirk Kwaczala “held the fort” with 31 saves.
The championship game saw McQuaid take an early lead on a goal by Ryan Flanigan, but Baldwinsville’s Bobby Conklin tied the game moments later to end the first period with the score tied at 1-1.  McQuaid then went to work, scoring four second-period goals, and adding two more in the third to defeat Baldsinsville 7-3, and once again gain revenge for an earlier season loss.  Goaltender Nick Bondurant was stellar in the McQuaid goal, making 26 saves, while up front, McQuaid’s sensational line of Brandon Nunn (1 goal) Ryan Flanigan (3 goals) and Mike Cieslak (3 goals) did all the scoring for the Knights.  Flanigan was selected the Div. 1 tournament MVP, while McQuaid capped off their championship season with a record of 19-4-4.  Baldwinsville finished at 25-5-2.

Using a goal in each period, along with a tight defense, Williamsville East enjoyed a 3-goal lead before Glens Falls was able to finally solve Williamsville goaltender Jarrod Etengoff, as the Flames went on to defeat Glens Falls 3-1 in the opening game of the tournament.
Salmon River scored three goals in the second period to pull away from Beekmantown in the other Div. 2 semifinal, 5-2.  Nick Montour had two goals and two assists to lead the Shamrocks.
In the championship game, Salmon River came from behind twice to tie the score, and force overtime with the score tied 2-2 at the end of regulation time.  Williamsville South’s Alex Durinka decided the game at 2:23 of overtime with a goal. Durinka, who earlier assisted on the Flames’ second goal, was selected as the Div. 2 tournament MVP.  This was South’s first appearance in the final-four, and the First Division 2 championship for Section VI (Buffalo area).  The Flames finished their championship season with a record of  18-5-2.

Dane Ellerton scored three goals for Seton Catholic of Plattsburgh, including the game-winner with less than a minute remaining, to give Sec.VII Seton a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over Section 2 Shenendehowa.  Trailing 3-1 going into the third period, Ellerton scored three unanswered goals, the final being with 31 seconds remaining, to send the Knights into the championship game.  Joining Ellerton with the heroics for Seton was goaltender Martin St. Arnaud with 28 saves.
Williamsville North earned their way into the Div. 1 championship game for the fourth consecutive year by defeating Potsdam 6-3.  A hat trick from Ken Joseph, and two more from Shane Sims powered the Spartans.
With Williamsville North having a 3-0 lead midway through the championship game, Seton came back with two goals of their own to make the game close. Then, North’s Tim Burow’s goal, and later an empty-net goal from Div. 1 tournament MVP Vince Amigone, gave the Spartans their second state championship in four years.

Two first-period goals by Batavia’s Pete Shaffer set the stage for the Ice Devils as Batavia (Sec. 5) defeated Plattsburgh  (Sec. 7) 3-2 in a Division 2 semi-final game.  Ian Stanton, Plattsburgh’s all-time leading scorer, scored  two second-period goals to tie the game for the Hornets, but Todd Pratt’s game-winning goal midway through the third period sent Batavia into the finals.
Hometown favorite Whitesboro (Sec. 3) and Glens Falls (Sec. 2) played a tight and scoreless first period, but at 1:05 of the second period, Steve Nutty’s goal finally broke the ice as Whitesboro went on to dominate the remainder of the game, and defeat Glens Falls 7-0.
The championship game was a defensive struggle, with the goaltenders taking over center-stage. Ryan Hoffman’s goal eight minutes into the second period put gave Whitesboro a 2-1 lead.  From that point on, the goaltenders provided the heroics, stopping everything that came their way.  Batavia’s Charlie O’Geen (26 saves) and Whitesboro’s Tim Schoen (25 saves) had everyone biting their nails up to the final buzzer.  The 2-1 win gave Whitesboro it’s first state title, and earned goaltender Tim Schoen the tournament MVP honor.

Goalie Kevin Fitzpatrick, a member of last year’s all-tournament team when he helped Williamsville North win its first state title, made 34 saves, and defenseman Shane Sims had a goal and an assist as the defending champion Spartans (Sec. 6) advanced past Greece Athena/Odyssey (Sec. 5) 3-0.
In the other semi-final game, Brockport (Sec. 5), thanks to shorthanded goals by Casey Balog and Nick Berlin, skated past Ithaca 3-1 to send the Blue Devils into the championship game for the second straight year.
In the championship game, Williamsville North, (which hadn’t lost in 27 games) took a 3-2 lead into the third period; the go-ahead goal being a 100-ft. dump-in shot that somehow eluded Brockport goaltender Pat Young.  It looked as if that goal would be the difference, as the teams played scoreless hockey for the first 11 minutes of the third period until Brockport’s Nick Berlin tied the game with 3:06 remaining.  With 1:29 remaining, North’s Andrew Orpic sent one past Young to once again give the Spartans the lead.  Just 21 seconds later, (1:08 remaining) Brockport’s Joe Mulhern scored the biggest goal of his life (and second goal of the game) to tie the game at 3-3 and force overtime.
Just 30 seconds into overtime, North had a chance to win it as Vince Amigone skated in on Young all alone, but missed the net.  A few minutes later, Brockport’s Jarrod Miner poked the puck into the net off a rebound to give the Blue Devils (23-3-2) their first state championship title. Defensive stalwart Colby Jones, with three assists in each game this weekend, was named  tournament MVP.  “I’ve been coaching at various levels for 17 years and seen some crazy games,” said Brockport coach Scott Empey. “For a final, it’d be hard to match this.”

Mike Patenaude scored two goals and added an assist to lead defending champion Salmon River (Sec. X) over Plattsburgh (Sec. VII) in the first Div. 2 semifinal. 6-1.
The other semi-final matchup saw first-time state tournament participant Clarkstown North (Sec. 1) take on Aquinas Institute (Sec. V). Stellar goaltending by K.J. McQuade (34 saves) and two goals from Joe Huchko, along with a penalty killing unit that killed three Aquinas power-plays in the final 7:30, powered Clarkstown North to a 4-0 win over Aquinas.
In the Div. 2 championship game, the “new kids on the block” Clarkstown North Rams were up against state tournament veteran Salmon River. David would not overcome Goliath this day, as Salmon River pounded Rams goaltender K.J. McQuade with 49 shots as the Shamrocks rolled to a 10-0 win over Clarkstown North (22-3-2). Mike Patenaude scored three goals and added an assist, while Ian Boots tallied two goals and two assists for Salmon River (22-7).

In the semi-finals, Chris Angelo scored three goals and Michael Cohen added a pair of goals as Williamsville North (Sec. VI) rolled to an overwhelming 8-0 win over Brockport (Sec. V).
The other semi-final saw Section III rivals West Genesee and at-large entry Baldwinsville. It was a tough, physical game, in which West Genesee scored goals in each period to build a 3-0 lead before Baldwinsville came up with too little too late in the third period as the Wildcats defeated Baldwinsville 3-2 to earn their second consecutive trip to the state tournament finals. Bill Zaika’s goal and assist, and goaltender Jon Bova’s 34 saves powered West Genesee.
In the finals, Willismsville North again got off to a fast start with 2 unassisted goals by Vince Amigone and a power-play goal by Brandon Baker. West Genesee closed the gap with goals from Tom Alfieri and Bill Zaika, but North’s Michael Cohen jammed in a rebound to give the Spartains a lead that would prove insurmountable. Brandon Baker’s second goal of the game was the final touch as Williamsville North (22-3-1) defeated defending champion West Genesee 5-3 to become the first team from Section VI (Buffalo area) to skate away with the State Championship plaque. West Genesee finished the year at 22-5-2.

Stellar goaltending from Ben Collins, and three-point games from Mario Nucci (2-1) and Ryan LaShomb (1-2) led Aquinas to a 5-1 win over Glens Falls, while Salmon River had no trouble dispatching Lake Placid 8-2. Salmon River received two goals each from Ted Cook and Jon Kane.
In the Div. 2 championship game, Salmon River’s quickness and tenacity totally smothered Aquinas as the Shamrocks defeated Aquinas 3-1 and returned to the north country with their fifth state championship, and a final record of 26-2. Salmon River outshot Aquinas 37-7, and stellar performance from Andy Gardner, Billy Black, Ted Cook and Phil Boots earned them recognition on the all-tournament team.

Eric Cassidy gave defending-champion LaSalle Institute a 1-0 lead  with a late second-period goal, but Williamsville North tied the game with a goal by Mike Cohen with about 5 minutes remaining in the third period. That was enough to send the game into overtime when Cohen sent a pass to teammate Billy Baker who put the puck past LaSalle netminder Tys Bailey-Yavonditte at 1:53  to end LaSalle’s hopes for a championship repeat.
The other Div. 1 semi-final saw a repeat of the Section 3 championship game matchup between Oswego and West Genesee.. After losing in the Sec. 3 title game 2-1, Oswego won three emotional 1-goal tournament wins; 2-1 over Potsdam, a triple-overtime 6-5 win over Greece Lightning, and a 1-0 win over Canton in order to qualify for the Utica final-four. The championship game was to be the fourth meeting between these teams.
The script was followed perfectly, as this game provided still another 1-goal, three overtime thriller. West Genesee’s Josh Platt, with a defender on his back, still managed to walk in and beat Oswego goalie Nate Deban to score the winning goal after 18:43 of overtime. The goal came in the third overtime session after Oswego had numerous chances, only to be stopped by Wildcats goalie Dan Tormey.
In the championship game, West Genesee’s Bill Zaika scored three goals, including two in a span of 1:28 in the first period, to lead the Wildcats to a 4-1 victory over Williamsville North (21-3-2). Zaika, along with teammates Josh Platt, John Sharkey and goaltender Dan Tormey, earned all-tournament recognation for West Genesee (22-6-1)

In the semifinals, LaSalle Institute, from Troy, scored two goals in the first period, and then held on to defeat Plattsburgh 2-1.
In the other semifinal, a game that saw all of its scoring in the first period, Glens Falls defeated Salmon River 3-2, setting the stage for a historic meeting in the championship final.
This year saw the first time in the history of the tournament that two teams from the same section met in a championship game. LaSalle had a 2-1 record in three previous games against Glens Falls this year, including a 3-1 victory in the Section II championship game. The teams appeared headed for overtime, when LaSalle’s Adam Samiof found the upper corner of the net with 42 seconds remaining in the 3rd period to give the Cadets (21-5-2) their first state hockey title.

Ithaca and Seton Catholic, from Plattsburgh, met in the semifinals, where Adam Moore’s goal and two assists led Ithaca to a 4-1 win over Seton.
In the other semifinal, Mike Santamoor and Mike Paine each had a goal and an assist for Saratoga to lead the Blue Streaks to a 4-2 win over Massena.
In an eagerly awaited rematch of last year’s championship game, Ithaca’s Matt Caren had the greatest shift of his life! 3:11 into the first period, Caren opened the scoring for Ithaca. Eleven seconds later, Caren scored again. 35 seconds later, he scored again. AGAIN, giving him a “natural” hat trick in only 46 seconds! The LIttle Reds added a second-period goal from Chris Uber to lead Ithaca (26-3) to their fourth state championship title in a 4-0 win over defending champion Saratoga (21-5-2).

Aquinas Institute of Rochester overcame one-goal deficits three times to ice a hard-earned 5-3 victory over LaSalle Institute of Troy 5-3. Steve Gionta’s goal, breaking a 3-3 tie, and Gionta’s empty-net goal in the last minute, propelled Aquinas into the finals.
In the other semifinal game, Cortland-Homer, in its first appearance in the state tournament, simply had everything going its way as the Golden Eagles defeated Mamaroneck 7-0. All-state forward Ricky Williams scored three goals for Cortland-Homer.
In the championship game, Aquinas took a 3-1 lead into the second period, and never looked back as the Little Irish won their second consecutive state championship with a convincing 6-4 win over No. 1 ranked Cortland-Homer (25-5). Aquinas freshman sensation Steve Gionta scored two goals for Aquinas (20-3-4), and was the Division 2 Tournament MVP.

Clutch goaltending by Dave Wrisley, and goals by John VanBenschoten, Paul Sylvester and Chris Uber powered Ithaca to an impressive 3-1 win over Greece.
In the other semifinal game, Saratoga goaltender Mark Paine provided the early heroics as Gates-Chili totally dominated the first period, but the score was still 0-0 at the first intermission. In the final two periods, the rest of the Paine family stepped into the spotlight. Mark’s brother, Chris, broke the scoreless tie with a second period breakaway goal. Another brother, Mike, assisted on a goal by Mike Santamoor (…involved in his own “family affair” as his dad, Bob Santamoor, is one of Saratoga’s coaches), and scored an empty-net goal to send the Blue Streaks into the finals with a 3-0 win over Gates-Chili (23-5-1).
The championship game promised to be a low scoring game as both Ithaca and Saratoga brought reputations of having stingy defenses into the game. Saratoga’s Mike Santamoor opened the scoring at 14:42 of the first period. That was the only scoring until Chris Paine, with assists from brother Mike and Tim Rehm, scored with only 2:05 left in the 3rd period. Mike Paine concluded the scoring with an empty-net goal with 30 seconds remaining to send the Blue Streaks (26-4) home as state champions with a 3-0 victory over No. 1 ranked Ithaca (26-1-1). Paine’s empty-net goal marked the only time all season that Ithaca had allowed more than two goals in one game!  Goaltender Mark Paine was selected as the Div. 1 Tournament MVP.

In one of the classic games in the history of the tournament, Aquinas of Rochester twice overcame 1 goal deficits to upset heavily favored and #1 ranked New Hartford 3-2 in double overtime. Sean Kotary and Adam Foote scored for New Hartford, while Lou Ferrari scored Aquinas’ first two goals, and Mike Doherty scored the overtime game winner. In the other semifinal game, Jason Breyette scored the game winning goal, and Bob Pooler made 22 saves as Plattsburgh, making its first “final four” appearance, defeated Mamaroneck 3-2. In the championship game , Aquinas was holding on to a 2-1 lead with just under five minutes to play when Aquinas’ Jason Schmidt and Jason Gurnett scored 28 seconds apart to close the lid on Plattsburgh. Jim Leta added an empty net goal for Aquinas, as the Little Irish won the Division 2 title, 5-2.

Canton goaltender Mark Spadaccinni’s 30 saves, and goals by Kevin Nee and Marc Morley led the Golden Bears to a 2-1 win over Saratoga. In the other semifinal game, Greece, with two goals each from Andy Rice and Jason McMullen, overpowered Suffern 7-0. Keith Hahn made 19 saves for Greece.
In the championship game, Canton, led by Marc Morley’s three goals, and 18 saves by goaltender Mark Spadaccinni, defeated Greece 6-2. Four unanswered third period goals broke the game open for Canton, who won its second consecutive Division 1 State Championship.

New Hartford extended its unbeaten streak to 17 games as the Spartans rolled over Lake Placid 8-1 in a semifinal matchup. Kyle Stephens had a hat trick in the Spartan victory.
In the other semifinal game, Ogdensburg, paced by Jon Shaver’s hat trick, defeated Mamaroneck, 3-1.
The championship game saw a close contest until New Hartford scored two goals in a 47-second span late in the second period (the second being a shorthanded goal by tournament MVP Adam Foote) to open up the game, and give New Hartford an insurmountable 5-2 lead. The Spartans added a third period goal, as New Hartford defeated Ogdensburg 6-2, and finished their championship season at 22-4-3.

Oswego, returning to the state tournament after a heartbreaking 1-goal loss in last year’s championship game, rolled over Seton Catholic in the semifinals 9-2. The Buccaneers were lead by Mike Foley’s four goals.
In the other semifinal game, Canton upset No. 1 ranked Albany Academy 4-2. Canton goaltender Lee Jenison made 26 saves as the Bears got sweet revenge over Albany, as Albany handed Canton their only loss (4-3) this season a few weeks earlier.
The championship game saw Oswego take leads of 1-0 and 2-1 on a pair of goals by Mark Donabella. With 3:49 left in the 3rd period, Canton’s Brian Carvel tied the game. Canton took the lead for the first time when Derek Hetu scored with 2:04 remaining. As time was winding down, Oswego’s Mark Donabella picked up a loose puck and roared toward the Canton goal on a breakaway. Oswego’s comeback hopes were smothered, along with Donabella’s scoring attempt, as tournament MVP Lee Jenison made the breakaway save. Canton held on to defeat Oswego 3-2, and finished their championship season with a record of 22-1-3.

Clinton, defending Div. 2 champion from last year’s tournament, routed Monroe-Woodbury 16-1.
In the other semifinal game, center Dave Evans scored two goals and assisted on the other three to spark LaSalle Institute to a 5-2 victory over Salmon River.
In the championship game, LaSalle Institute had the lead over defending champion Clinton after the first and second periods, but Clinton rallied to pull out a 6-5 victory. Clinton’s Dave D’Amico finished with three goals to spark the Warriors, who finished the season at 22-2.

Oswego, led by Erik Cole’s three goals and two assists, defeated Seton Catholic 6-3.
In the other semifinal game, Bobby Garrison, Justin Booth and David Burritt powered the Greece Lightning to a 3-0 lead through two periods, and held on to defeat Suffern 3-2. Greece outshot Suffern 37-18. Suffern’s loss was the final game in coach John Orlando’s illustrious coaching career.
In the championship final, Greece took a 2-0 lead into the locker room after one period;  goals by Dave Insalaco and Brian Cooper providing the difference. Oswego came back to tie the game in the second period, before a long slap shot by Greece’s Bobby Garrison regained the lead for the Lightning. Oswego tied the game in the third period with Matt Vashaw’s second goal of the game. Twice within the final 9:00, the swarming Buccaneers were denied the go- ahead goal when shots rattled off the post. Suddenly, with 59 seconds remaining in regulation time, Greece’s Justin Booth backhanded a loose puck into the Oswego goal to give Greece, and Section 5, their first state championship. Greece finished their dream season with a record of 26-1-1.

Batavia, paced by Dave McCarthy’s hat trick, defeated Mamaroneck 7-1 to earn their first championship game appearance. Clinton, displaying a weekend of relentless fore-checking, played perfect hockey in posting shutout victories over LaSalle Institute (6-0) and Batavia (5-0). John Majka’s hat trick provided most of the offense against LaSalle. Goaltender Sean Duink posted his 6th and 7th shutouts of the season for coach Tim Suppe’s Warriors. Clinton finished with a 23-1-1 record.

Pittsford received 4 goals from Ken Yanicky and 3 goals from Josh DiMarzo to surprise Suffern 7-1, while in the other semifinal Massena held Saratoga to 12 shots on goal as the Raiders defeated Saratoga 4-1 to earn their 7th appearance in the tournament championship game. On Sunday afternoon, Massena’s Kory David scored 9 seconds after the opening faceoff. Another Massena goal three minutes later had Massena fans thinking that a rout was in the making. Pittsford, however, came roaring back, scoring the next three goals to take the lead. Massena’s Josh Spanburgh then took matters into his own hands, scoring three of Massena’s final four goals to lead the Raiders to a 6-3 win, and their 4th Div. 1 state championship. Coach Tim Long’s Raiders finished the season at 21-5.

There was no stopping the Canton hockey team’s quest for a second straight Div. 2 championship. Sherm Grant had 3 goals and 2 assists, and 8 other Canton players scored as the Golden Bears routed over Rye in a semifinal mismatch 13-1. In the finals, Canton’s Mike Bushaw had a hat-trick, and teammate Sherm Grant added 2 goals to power the Bears over Williamsville South, 8-2 Williamsville South (13-5-2) was the first Section VI (Buffalo region) team to advance to the state tournament weekend. Canton finished the season at 26-2-2.

In the semifinals, Ithaca and Suffern were involved in a real “grinder,” with Ithaca holding on to a 1-0 lead in the last minute of play in the 3rd period, when Suffern’s John Rostawanik tied the game with 52 seconds remaining. Two grueling scoreless overtime periods had the crowd squirming in their seats, but at 2:13 of the third overtime period, Josh Taube put the puck past Suffern netminder Mike Cunningham to send the Little Red into the finals. It wasn’t any easier for Ithaca in the finals, as the Little Red held on to defeat Niskayuna of Schenectady 3-2 to win their third state championship. Todd Kathan was the offensive hero for Ithaca with two goals, while Niskayuna’s Mike Lephart scored both goals for the Mohawks . Niskayuna ended their season at 19-7-3, while Ithaca finished at 19-4-1.

Two shorthanded goals in the first period by Canton prevented undefeated Rush-Henrietta (22-0-1) from building any momentum, as Canton won over Rush-Henrietta 6-3 in the semifinals. An early first period goal by Mike Monoco gave Highland Falls/O’Neill a brief 1-0 lead over LaSalle Institute, but LaSalle picked up the pace from that point on to score 12 unanswered goals as the Cadets defeated O’Neill 12-1. Dave Tabor and Jason Holzman scored hat-tricks for the Cadets. In the finals, LaSalle had trouble initiating any kind of offense against Canton. The Cadets were only able to generate 14 shots, while bigger and stronger Canton took 41 shots at LaSalle netminder Tim Ague as the Golden Bears defeated LaSalle 4-2 to bring the championship trophy back to the north country.

In Saratoga’s first ever appearance at the state tournament, Andy Pemrick scored twice while the Blue Streaks played outstanding defense to dethrone the defending Division 1 state champion Suffern Mounties 6-1 in the semifinals. The other semifinal matchup featured Massena and Aquinas Institute meeting for the second year in-a-row. The Red Raiders defeated Aquinas 4-2 in what was easily the best game of the tournament. Taking a 2-1 lead into the third period, Massena received goals from Matt Reid and Mark Tyo before Chris Sichak closed the scoring for Aquinas, which ended their season at 20-3-2. The championship game between Saratoga and Massena was eagerly anticipated, since one of Massena’s two losses entering the tournament was to the Blue Streaks 4-3 in overtime in February. (Massena’s other loss was to Division 2 state champion, Canton.)  However, Massena didn’t want to go home disappointed again this year, as they skated over the Blue Streaks 10-0 in the most lopsided game in state tournament finals history. Massena took a 4-0 lead into the second period, and scored six goals in the first 5:09 of the second period to win the Division 1 championship for the third time. Massena ended their season at 24-2-1, while Saratoga finished at 22-4-1. The Massena team, parents and friends partied the night away on the dance floor at the Radisson that evening, as a monster blizzard closed the thruway and all other state roads around Utica.

After graduating 12 seniors from last year’s Division 2 championship team, not many people gave Glens Falls a chance to repeat as state champions, but the Indians repeated as Division 2 champions by defeating Malone’s pesty Franklin Academy team 4-3. Glens Falls’ Jeff Mead converted a Robert Merell centering pass for the game winning goal; his second of the game, with 1:51 left to play in the third period. It was a heartbreaking loss for Malone, who required three overtimes to defeat Gates-Chili in the tournament semifinal 48 hours earlier.

Oswego, which two weeks earlier had been defeated by Rome Free Academy 6-4 in the Section Three championships, got sweet revenge in the tournament semifinals by eliminating the Black Knights by an identical 6-4 score. Albany Academy’s depth, however, was too much for Oswego to handle in the championship contest. The Cadets received goals from three different forward lines, and the defense limited Oswego to 17 shots on goal, as the Cadets made up for their bitter triple-overtime 1-0 loss in last year’s title game with a 3-1 victory over Oswego to cap off a perfect 27-0 season.

Jason Krogman’s 52nd goal of the season with 1:56 remaining in the third period powered Glens Falls to its first state championship as the Indians defeated Skaneateles 2-1 in the Division 2 final.

West Genesee (18-7), entering the tournament with more losses than any team that qualified for the Division 1 final four, required overtime to beat a strong Suffern team in the semifinals 2- 1  Waiting to greet the Wildcats on Championship Sunday was the state’s No. 1 ranked team, Albany Academy (27-1)!  The championship final was another defensive classic with West Genesee goalie Jeff Solan and Academy goalie Mitch Tolokonsky stopping everything coming at them; until Wildcats forward Dave Signor scored with 1:06 remaining in the third overtime to give West Genesee the Division 1 championship.

The Division 2 championship game was a CLASSIC by anyone’s criteria. With Salmon River leading 2-1 in the last minute of regulation time (Kyle Jacobs 2 goals for Salmon River, Mitch Major for Skaneateles), with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker, Skaneateles’ Olaf Kunz slams home the rebound past Shamrocks goalie Mike Benedict to tie the game with 44 seconds left to send the game into overtime. Goaltending stepped forward to steal the show in the four overtimes that followed, as time after time, Benedict (53 saves, including 26 in the four overtimes) and Skaneateles’ Fritz Lutzy (36 saves) saved the day for their teams with sensational saves in a game that both teams refused to lose!  The 2-2 tie caused both Salmon River and Skaneateles to be declared co-champions.

Rome Free Academy carried a perfect 24-0 season record, and a 49 game winning streak into the Division 1 final against St. John’s of Plattsburgh, but St. John’s wasn’t impressed as the Irish defeated the Black Knights 5-3, clinching the win with an empty-net goal in the final minute. Noteworthy of this achievement was the fact that St. John’s, with a total enrollment of 115 students, (…and over half of them are girls,” said St. John’s coach Mike Dandrow) competed as a Division 1 team this season after winning the Division 2 championship the previous year. It was also St. John’s last game ever, as the school merged with Mount Assumption Institute to form Seton Catholic High School. People left Utica that weekend thinking that there couldn’t possibly be another pair of championship finals to match these, …until…

St. John’s 6-1 win over Suffern in the Division 2 finals was the Irish’s 23 consecutive win in a season that saw them compile a 27-2 record.

Rome Free Academy completed a perfect 25-0 season by dispatching Albany Academy in the Division 1 final. The semifinal matchup against defending champion Ithaca, however, was the biggest test for RFA as they survived a three goal third period rally by Ithaca in a game that saw the Black Knights outshot for the first time all season!

Coach Dave Rider’s Albany Academy Cadets made amends for their runner-up status in each of the two previous seasons when they slipped past St. John’s 3-2 in a rematch of last year’s Division 2 final.

A well-disciplined, defensive-minded Ithaca team made a very impressive showing in the tournament semifinal by defeating a high-scoring Batavia team 3-0. In the second period, Ithaca held Batavia to zero shots on goal!  In the championship game, Ithaca spotted Massena to an early 2-0 lead, but the Little Red rallied to defeat Massena 5-3. It was the second state tournament championship for coach Art Cicchetti and the Little Red.

St. John’s Academy of Plattsburgh made its first-ever trip to the state tournament a memorable experience by pulling off a pair of stunning upsets en route to the Division 2 crown. Mike Cleveland’s desperation shot with 0:12 remaining in regulation time caromed off the back boards, the goaltender and into the net to lift the Irish past New Hartford 4-3 in the semifinals. Cleveland continued his heroics in the championship game against Albany Academy with a goal and an assist, but the real offensive hero of the day proved to be Todd DeFayette. The St. John’s forward scored three times, including a pair of unassisted short-handed goals, as the Irish relegated Albany Academy to runner-up status for the second time in as many seasons. For Albany Academy, Ed Jarosz notched two power play goals and assisted on Kevin Darby’s even-strength goal to give the Cadets a short-lived 3-2 lead that DeFayette and company reversed in a 6-3 St. John’s victory.

Rome Free Academy captured its first state tournament championship in a 6-3 triumph over Skaneateles. Mike Dominic’s three goals led the way for the Black Knights, as they defeated Skaneateles for the fourth time this season in an all Section 3 final.

A little extra work paid off in a big way again for Rome Catholic at Glens Falls in 1985. The Redwings, who two weeks earlier had defeated Watertown in double overtime to win their fourth straight Section Three crown, topped Albany Academy by a 3-2 count in the state final as Tom Yoxall scored at 1:02 of overtime. Rome Catholic finished the season with 14 straight victories and the best record in the school’s history, 20-2-1.

Liverpool’s Tretowicz brothers, Mark and Dave, helped the Warriors to an early two goal lead that Ogdensburg Free Academy challenged, but could never overcome in a 5-4 thriller to give Section Three a championship sweep in this year’s tournament.

Rome Catholic High School’s first state championship followed a storybook script. Irishman Pat Monaghan, wearing lucky No. 7 on his 16th birthday on St. Patrick’s day, found the net with a backhander with just six seconds remaining in regulation to tie LaSalle Institute of Troy at 4-4. Less than a minute later, Rome was celebrating a 5-4 win after senior J.R. Purrington, the school’s all- time leading scorer, had ended the dramatics with his 40th goal of the season and 133rd of his career just 42 seconds into overtime. Rome Catholic won its last 12 games and finished with a 20-3 record.

Ithaca gained sweet revenge for past failures against Massena by rallying past the Red Raiders in the semifinals, and overcoming an early deficit against Rome Free Academy to defeat the Black Knights 7-3. Stellar goaltending by Ithaca freshman Shane Sherwood led theLittle Red to the first state championship for Section 4.

The Section 10 dominance came to an abrupt end this season, as teams from “the southern provinces” brought home their first championship plaques.  Bob Witko’s goal in the second period and 15 saves from goalie Gary Edwards in the third period were the key elements for Albany Academy as the Cadets downed No.1 seeded and favored Salmon River 2-1 The Cadets finished the season at 14-10-1, while Salmon River finished at 21-7-1.

Skaneateles ended the North Country three year reign on the state championship crown with a 4-2 upset win over Massena. Massena entered the game with a 22-1 record and was the number one ranked team in the state. Two goals by Mark Major and Tom Morrissey along with 25 saves by Carl Gerst provided the margin of victory as the Lakers finished their season at 17-5.

Section 10 teams once again dominated in tournament play. St. Lawrence Central, behind Andre Dalbec’s hat trick, led the onslaught as the Larries overpowered Nyack 9-0 while peppering Nyack goaltenders with 59 shots. St. Lawrence was coached by Andre’s dad, Bert Dalbec.

Massena’s Jim Hull once again led the Raiders to the state championship with a natural hat trick in an 8:15 span in the second period. Massena fired 52 shots at Rye goaltender Dean Bodnar en route to a 7-0 win over the Garnets. After three years of tournament play, Section 10 teams now owned 6 championship titles.

Coach Bill Plante’s Salmon River Shamrocks once again drew Christian Brothers Academy in the title contest, but this year’s result wasn’t nearly as close as the Shamrocks overpowered CBA 8-1. Salmon River was led by Jose Tarbell’s two goal one assist performance, and two shorthanded goals by Bob Connors.

Massena finished the season at 26-3 as they defeated Ithaca 4-1 for the Division 1 championship.  Jim Hull’s first of two goals gave the Red Raiders an early lead at 1:16 of the first period. Jim Tyo scored what proved to be the game-winner at 7:51 of the first period.

Salmon River, led by first-year coach Bill Plante, edged Christian Brothers Academy 4-3.  Dave Beeson backstopped Salmon River to victory in the first tournament game ever.

Lake Placid extended the Olympic “Miracle on Ice” by claiming championship honors in the inaugural state final. Mike Roberson scored the winning goal and assisted on another to lead the Blue Bombers past Ithaca 4- 1. Lake Placid finishes the season at 25- 4.