Sunday, March 10, 2019: Suffern pours it on in second period of semifinal

   Leading off today: Suffern rallied from a two-goal deficit with a six-goal onslaught in the second period and defeated Canton 8-3 in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association boys Division 1 hockey semifinals Saturday at Harborcenter in Buffalo.

   It was the second consecutive game in which the Mounties had to respond after falling behind 3-1.

   "We've done this before," coach Rob Schelling said. "Our biggest thing is when we fell behind we had to keep our composure. We had to do it against Bethlehem, we've had a few games like this, so we were able to keep our composure and put a few in there."

   Tom McCarren, Kyle Foresta and Ryan Schelling scored twice apiece in less than an eight-man span of the middle stanza as Suffern extended its unbeaten streak to 23 games.

   McCarren began the rally on an odd-man rush 1:24 after Canton went up by two. McCarren tied it when he got open in front and cashed in a setup from Ryan Fennell. Just 28 seconds later, Suffern went ahead to stay as Foresta skated through the left circle and beat the goalie with a low wrist shot. Foresta made it 5-3 when he connected from the right-wing side.

   Suffern's opponent in Sunday;s final will be Syracuse, which parlayed four second-period goals into a 5-1 win over Orchard Park. Senior Phillip Zollo recorded a hat trick to lead the Cougars.

   Zollo and Nate Frye scored 4:03 apart midway through the second to give Syracuse all the offense it would need. The Cougars finished with a 36-13 shots on goal advantage.

   Division II hockey: Two goals 12 seconds apart from captain Luke Lynn early in the second period highlighted Skaneateles' 5-2 win over Webster Thomas.

   With the Lakers already ahead 2-0, Lynn's line started the second period and the senior quickly doubled the advantage by completing his natural hat trick.

   "Luke's been primed for this for a long time and this has been his goal to get here," Skaneateles coach Mitch Major said. "For him to step up in a big moment just shows you the fortitude of Luke Lynn."

   Said Lynn: "We're just an explosive team and any of the three lines can do it. You can get a goal any shift with one coming after the other. I just tried to enjoy the moment."

   The Lakers' opponent in the final as they pursue their fourth NYSPHSAA crown will be Queensbury, a 4-0 winner over John Jay Cross River in the semifinals.

   Brendan Duffy scored twice, Brayden Ordway assisted on three goals and Owen Smith stopped 17 shots for the Spartans.

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   "We struggled the first few minutes, were tentative, then got back into our physical hockey," coach Dean Williams said. "As soon as we did that, it allowed us more time to make decisions, allowed our forecheck to develop, and that was the turning point."

   Queensbury outshot John Jay 35-17, and Smith became the program's career leader with 1,636 saves.

   "The key with him was he didn't allow second-chance opportunities," Williams said. "He controlled his rebounds."

   NYSPHSAA bowling: Nick Perrone closed with a 243-228-243 block to take top boys honors in the composite division of the three-day NYSPHSAA state tournament in Syracuse. The Panas senior nailed down his second individual title in three years with a 1,378 pinfall for six games.

   Suffern senior Tommy Chamberlain (1,362) finished second overall to Perrone, whose 267 was the day;s high game.

   On the girls side, Hilton sophomore Elena Carr cruised to victory with six games of 223 or better. Her 1,460 total was 55 pins ahead of runner-up Taylor Eggert of Smithtown/Kings Park.

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   Eggert began her day with nine consecutive strikes en route to a 262, but Carr took the lead for good with a 278 in her second game.

   The top score of the day was a 288 rolled by Suffern senior Megan Dobrinski.

   Indoor track: Sam Affolder, whose family left the state just as he was beginning to make his mark as a distance runner at Carthage, continued his huge weekend Saturday at the New Balance Nationals Indoor at The Armory.

   Now competing for Loundon Valley (Va.), Affolder has helped his team to three distance relay championships and two national high school records.

   The blitz began Friday when he ran a 4:06.21 anchor for the distance medley relay to bring the quartet home in a record 9:54.41. The mark broke the 2017 record by Carlisle, Pa., half of which consisted of Affolder and his older brother Noah.

   He began his Saturday by going 4:06.19 on the third leg of the four-mile relay that set a record of 17:01.81.

   Then he split 1:51.3 on the third leg of the 3,200-meter relay as Loundon Valley notched another win.

   Affolder had a history of headaches and vomiting after big races since leaving Carthage after his freshman year, but coaches identified the issue as overhydration. Affolder has been drinking less water and been incorporating more electrolytes into his diet since late in the cross country season. He's been finding an extra gear on a consistent basis since.

   "It makes me excited for the outdoor season," he said. "I think the sky is the limit is to what I can do."

    • Bronxville came from behind to win the boys sprint medley relay in 3:27.34 to take over the national season lead.

   The winning team consisted of Seamus Watters, Tommy O'Connell, and twins Alex and Matt Rizzo.

   Ursuline, a top-five finisher the pat three seasons, struck gold in the girls four-mile relay. Senior twins Sarah and Lily Flynn, Daphne Banino and Haley McLean won in 20:28.30, nearly 15 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.