By Warren Kozireski —
Suffern broke a 1-1 tie with three second period tallies and added two empty-net goals to defeat Orchard Park and win the Division I New York State championship at HarborCenter in Buffalo.
Orchard Park struck first as junior Brady Ciano, who had a hat trick in the Quakers semi-final victory, let a shot go after a right wing rush that hit the stick of the goaltender and deflected in at 7:549 of the first period.
Suffern tied it on junior Philip McCarthy’s power play goal from Charlei Windwer and Tyler Pomeranz with less than nine seconds remaining in the first period.
That momentum carried the Mounties into the second period as senior Ayden Greenberg stripped the defenseman of the puck and found sophomore Sean Tyrell in front of the net at 9:08 for a 2-1 lead.
“I knew we needed a big goal and Greenberg gave me a seed pass and I was able just very lucky to bury it and celebrate with the boys,” Tyrell said.
Suffern then took control of the game using a five-on-three advantage to score twice within 89 seconds. Senior defenseman Nick Bonanno slid the puck just inside the left post with assists from Jake Rostawanik and Schaefer Pinotti at 10:44 before Tyrell scored his second of the game from Pomeranz at 12:13.
Orchard Park tried to claw back getting a power play goal at 8:21 of the third period as freshman Nolan Zakrzewski banged in the rebound of a Matthew Norum shot to close the gap to two, but the Mounties got two empty net goals by Greenberg and Bonanno to seal the victory.
“It feels pretty amazing—my first state championship…we worked at it all season, but it feels very good,” Tyrell said.
“We stuck to our game all year,” Suffern head coach Rob Schelling said. “These kids work so hard every day since the beginning and to have that first goal go in, which was not the best of goals…just shows the character of this group.
“Going to the state championship now three years in a row shows you what kind of group we have here. Sean Tyrell is the youngest of four Tyrell brothers to have played for us, so for his family to get what they get for what they’ve done for our program is great.”
Named to the All-Tournament Team were Nolan Zakrzewski and Brady Ciano with Suffern’s Philip McCarthy, Ayden Greenberg, Charlei Windwer, goaltender Nick Downey and Most Valuable Player Sean Tyrell.
Suffern, who defeated Monroe-Woodbury 11-0 and Massena 5-2 to advance to the championship game, previously won state hockey titles in 1992, 2012 and 2022.
(Photo by Koz, NY Hockey OnLine)
