When you are the defending state champion, you enter the new season knowing full well that you have a target on your back. But you also know that you are part of something special and worthy of being No. 1.
Williamsville North, St. Joe’s and Pelham Memorial all know this and are ready to defend what they believe to rightfully be theirs.
Division 1
Last season marked the Spartans’ fifth, and perhaps sweetest, state title, as they won it before the home crowd at HarborCenter in downtown Buffalo. Section VI Williamsville-North, which scored a 3-2 win over Section V Pittsford, again has its eyes on winning states in its backyard, as the NYSPHSAA tournament returns to Harbor-Center in March.
“That’s always our goal every year since we’ve been eligible for the last 17 years,” head coach Bob Rosen said. “That’s our focus — what do we have to do to be playing our best hockey at the end of the year?”