New York Hockey Journal

26 NEW YORK HOCKEY JOURNAL April 2020 Subscribe today at NYHockeyJournal.com/subscribe Section V Victor was to set to square off against Section VI Williamsville North before the cancellation. Will-North had advanced to states after beating Section VII Ithaca in regionals. The Spartans claimed the sec- tional title after topping defend- ing champion Orchard Park in a game that saw longtime coach Bob Rosen collect his 500th ca- reer win. Victor, which won states in 2018, was poised for another title bid after beating Fairport for the Section V Class A crown, then knocking off defending state champion Section III Syr- acuse in regionals. Victor coach Mike Ferreri said the team was bracing for a state championship with no spectator in the stands before the final was scrapped entirely. "We met before practice and I think having everyone togeth- er was really important," Ferreri said. "Everybody was kind of there for each other. We talked about celebrating the journey and all the successes that the team has had throughout the season." Ferreri empathized with his seniors as they realized this was the end of the line for high school hockey, especially Jack McCandless, Pieter Bartelse, Tristan Sulecki and Bennett Prince, who were eager to write their history as champions after being support players on the 2018 state title team. "They're such a great group where they have impacted our community in a positive way," Ferreri said. "They do so many things that are so much more important than a state title. They mentor elementary kids. They work with special needs hockey teams. They do so many things in that larger purpose that we talk about. "These boys will always be part of history," he said of the final eight teams standing in the state. "They'll always be one of those eight teams that the sport will talk about for a long time, including the basketball teams that have gotten as far as they've gotten and the bowling teams. We're one of a very small fraternity and sorority for the fe- male side that reached that pin- nacle, but never got a chance to ultimately prove ourselves. We'll never know how good we were and are." In Division 2, defending state champion Skaneateles out of Section III was set to face Section V Webster-Thomas. The other semifinal match-up had Section II Queensbury, which was also making a return trip to states, facing Section III Whitesboro. Whitesboro lost to the Lakers in the Section III ti- tle game but used the wild-card berth to beat Rye in regionals. Webster-Thomas beat Canan- daigua in the sectional title game and Ogdensburg in re- gionals. Queensbury punched its return trip to states by de- feating Section VII Saranac/ Lake Placid in regionals. "My teammates and I were really devastated by this," Ska- neateles senior Cole Heintz said. "It was a little bit emo- tional on the ice (during prac- tice) because we really wanted to go back-to-back and get to HarborCenter again. Last year's experience was really fun for ev- erybody." Skaneateles coach Mitch Ma- h HIGH SCHOOL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS '20 NEW YORK Jacob Okulewicz scored twice as the Will-North Spartans blitzed Orchard Park, 5-1, in the Section VI Division 1 title game. Continued from Page 25 Andrew Miller Williamsville-North savors the spoils.

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