Bethlehem Pee Wee hockey team wins state championship
Title run: The Bethlehem Eagles won the New York State Amateur Hockey Association Youth Tier II hockey championship on March 15 in Rochester. The Eagles had a record of 50-8 this season. From left, back row: Head Coach Ken LeBel, Assistant Coaches Paul Hebert, Brian Lucy, and Rusty Gallagher; Rick Kowalsky not present. Middle row: Grace Spath, Maddie Lebel, Anthony Denison, Dylan Kowalsky, Justin Chenaille, Owen Hebert, Michael Bievenue, Jack Lucey, Chris Gallagher, Michael Cochran, Ethan Mash, and William Bievenue. Bottom row: Matthew Conforti and Josh Coburn.
BETHLEHEM — For the first time, a Bethlehem Youth Hockey Association team has won a state title. The Pee Wee A travel team won the New York State Amateur Hockey Association Tier II Championship on March 15.
The Eagles’ record this season was 50-8, capped with an impressive 9-to-2 win over the New York Aviators in the final game.
Head Coach Ken LeBel, of Guilderland, led the team of 14 players through a competitive season, facing teams from New York, Connecticut, Vermont, and Massachusetts. Four players on the team are seventh-graders at Farnsworth Middle School — Maddie LeBel, Matthew Conforti, Josh Coburn, and Michael Cochran.
This season, over 100 Pee Wee A hockey teams throughout New York competed to qualify for the state tournament. However, only eight teams earn the opportunity to play for a state title; the tournament comprises the first- and second-place finishers from each of the four zones in New York.
At the state championships, the Eagles’ first game was a rematch from last year’s state tournament with a much different outcome. The Eagles defeated the first-place team from the West Zone, Niagara Purple Junior Eagles, 5 to 2. The second game of the weekend marked Bethlehem’s second win with a 6-to-3 victory over Lysander, which finished first in the Central Zone.
This win gave the Eagles six points and guaranteed it a spot in one of the state semifinals.
Bethlehem’s third game was its only loss, which came at the hands of the NY Aviators, the second-place team from the East Zone and last year’s state champions. This resulted in the Eagles playing its North Zone rival, St. Lawrence Thunder. A strong team effort gave the Eagles a 6-to-0 win, and advanced the team to the championship game.
The Eagles averaged 6.06 goals per game while allowing only 1.96 goals against. According to MYHockey Rankings, the Eagles are ranked first of 105 travel A teams in New York. Nationally, the Eagles are ranked 41 of 1,029 ranked travel A teams.