Leading off today: Williamsville North earned its first New York State Public High Schools Athletic Association Division I hockey championship since 2011 by defeating Pittsford 3-2 at HarborCenter in Buffalo.
Brett Sardina, Andrew Bruno and Adam Batz scored for Williamsville North, which won its fifth championship under coach Bob Rosen. Mono-stricken goaltender Jake Zurat finished with 13 saves before an estimated 2,000 fans.
"The atmosphere in here, in our hometown was just unbelievable," Bruno told The Buffalo News. "We got it done for them."
The Spartans won the title by taking their fourth straight one-goal decision, which includes Saturday's 1-0 semifinal triumph over defending champion Mamaroneck. The Section 6 final and state quarterfinal went to overtime.
"Being a senior and winning this," Batz said, "I'll remember this for the rest of my life."
In Division II, Pelham pulled ahead with a short-handed goal and opened the flood gates in the third period with five more goals to defeat St. Lawrence 7-1 for its first championship.
Stefan Miklakos recorded a hat trick and Ben Hurd had a goal and three assists as the Pelicans controlled from puck drop to final whistle.
"They put so much pressure on you in every aspect of the game. We just didn't have time to make any kind of plays," St. Lawrence coach Mickey Locke said. "They're just so fast and they keep the intensity up and they just keep coming and coming."
Miklakos and Hurd worked a 2-on-1 into a Miklakos tap-in for a shorthanded goal to give Pelham the lead with 3:27 left in the second period. The ice was noticeably tilted but the score remained tight, which didn't seem to concern Pelham.
"The more practice you get of looking up at the scoreboard and seeing 0-0 or 1-1 the better you get at playing under those conditions," coach Ed Witz said. "In order to be a champion you need to be able to handle the stress and anxiety of being in a close game."
Hayes keeps advancing: Cardinal Hayes captured the CHSAA Class AA Intersectional championship in a 64-62 victory over Archbishop Molloy at Fordham University on Sunday.
Hayes placed five scorers in double figures, led by Tyrese Williams' 15 points and 12 from sophomore guard Joe Toussaint, who had nine assists and three steals.
Hayes advances to the Federation Class AA tournament for the first time since 1990. The school also became the first to win a downstate CHSAA basketball and football title at the highest level in the same school year since St. Francis Prep in 1957.
Moses Brown had 19 points and 17 rebounds for Molloy despite sitting for part of the second quarter after picking up his second foul.
"It's our 75th year as a school being open. Every team this year has almost won a chip. Soccer won one (Class B city title), football (AAA), basketball now, so we're going to put the pressure on the baseball team to win one too," Williams joked.
NYSPHSAA quarterfinals: Jalyn Dunlap rebounded a missed free throw and scored with :10 to play to lift Westbury past Half Hollow Hills East 61-60 for Long Island Class AA championship and a berth in next weekend's state semifinals in Binghamton.
Dunlap's pivotal basket came after teammate Jonathan Dean (16 points, 11 rebounds) missed the front end of a 1-and-1.
"It's JT at the line. I thought both of them were going in," Dunlap said. "When I saw it bounce off the rim, it kind of got slow. I was like this is it. I have to go get it. I grabbed it and put it back up and fortunately it just fell for me."
Dunlap scored a team-high 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in helping Westbury rally from a 15-point second-quarter deficit to win its first Long Island 'AA' title.
