AMHERST— On Sunday, March 15, the Bear Mountain 18U Midget Major hockey team won the NY State Tier III Hockey Championship, capping the five-game tournament with a 4-1 victory over the Valley Eagles from Syracuse.
It was the second year in a row that the team won the state 18U title.
Having won the Hudson Valley Hockey League, Bear Mountain went undefeated in its three-round robin games in the state tournament to advance to the semi-finals where they defeated Jamestown by a score of 7-0.
Goals for: 29; goals against: 3
That set up the final against the skilled and physical Valley Eagles.
Over the five games in the tournament, the team scored 29 goals while allowing the opposition just three goals.
The team is coached by two former Monroe Woodbury graduates who played hockey together for M-W. Erik Batewell and Josh Goodman, who graduated in 2000 and 2001 respectively, have coached the 18U Midget Major team together six years. Both Batewell and Goodman played their club career with the Bear Mountain club from age 6 through 18. This is the third New York State title that the coaching duo have led the club to, winning it in 2010.
As head coach, Batewell enjoys giving back to the hockey community and notes that passion plays an important role in the team’s success. “Watching these young men love the game the way they do is what makes it so much fun.”
Steve Pine, from Monroe, is the team manager and has coached in the club in previous seasons, including several years when his sons played for the team. Brendan Doyle from Warwick is an assistant coach and was a player on the 2010 Bear Mountain team that won state championship.
Six current and former M-W varsity hockey players contributed to the Bear Mountain championship season along with players from Orange, Rockland and Westchester counties. Eric Tremblay and John Hill, who graduated M-W in 2014 and attend Rockland Community College, were joined by Monroe-Woodbury junior Rich Murphy and seniors Chris Carey, Christian Salama and Aidan Ludington. Ludington and Carey played on the Bear Mountain team that won the State Championship in 2014.
The team had an overall record of 41 wins, 16 losses and 1 tie, playing two leagues including the Hudson Valley Hockey League and The Metropolitan Elite Hockey League.
This story was contributed by Tom Ludington.