The goal was already in place months before the first puck drop of the 2023-24 season.
Suffern, the proud powerhouse on ice, was determined to return to the state championship game and emerge victorious after falling short in last year’s title match.
Mission accomplished for the Mounties.
They surged past Section 6’s Orchard Park to capture their second NYSPHSAA Division I state title in three years, defeating the Quakers, 6-2, to retake the throne in Sunday’s finale at the LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo.
“They just never quit, from day one,” said Suffern coach Rob Schelling, who became the fastest coach to reach the 500-win milestone in state history earlier this season. “In 2022, right from the get-go, we were expected to win a state championship and we won it that year. We lost 11 seniors and going into last year, it was supposedly supposed to be a rebuilding year, but the kids had a great year to make it to the state championship.
“Going into this year, with the senior class we had and everyone we had coming back, we had high expectations. These guys had a goal from day one, and they never stopped trying to reach that goal.”
It is the fourth state title in program history. The Mounties previously captured gold in 1992, 2012 and 2022.
With Sunday’s victory, the Mounties are now one of eight programs in the entire state to win four or more state championships.
The Mounties close the the gap toward the top. Salmon River and Massena, who Suffern defeated, 5-2, in this year’s state semifinals, have the most state championships with six each.
“It’s our coaching staff and our culture,” said Suffern sophomore Sean Tyrrell of the program’s continued success. “Our coaching staff is very good. They turned me into a better hockey player than I was last year and the year before that, but our culture with the team is not like any other team. We push each other every day. We’re together in school and together through tough battles in games and stuff, and I think it showed in the state championship and final four.”
Although the final score was lopsided, Suffern was down early.
Brady Ciano scored the first goal of the game to put the Quakers up 1-0 midway through the first period.
Orchard Park was awarded a penalty shot and a chance to extend its lead in the final minute of the first period, but Suffern’s Nick Downey made a clutch save to keep it a 1-0 game.
“It was probably the most nerve-racking part of my hockey career,” said Downey, the senior goalkeeper, who finished with…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at "ice hockey" – Google News…