Long Beach, East Williston are champs

Long Beach led the Suffolk County High School Hockey League in lowest goals against average. Connetquot / Sayville was the league's top offensive squad. As the two teams finished play in the Suffolk finals, cliché aficionados must have been overjoyed. Turns out, at least in this case, defense really does win championships.

Long Beach, playing its first season in the Suffolk league, beat Connetquot / Sayville, 7-3, in Game 1 Monday, and 4-2 in Game 2 Tuesday to take the best-of-three county finals. it was the Marine's first title since 2008, when they played in the Nassau league.

"It's everything you hope to see," coach Joe Brand said. "Every guy is doing what they have to do, not worrying about who was going to score, who was going to make the play. You ask for the forecheck, the backcheck and to play smart. Everybody followed suit."

Goalie Harris Pittinsky was named MVP of the finals.

"When we need a save, Harris was there to make it," said Brand, whose teams have been historically defensively focused.

In Game 1, Long Beach (21-2) found itself in an early 3-1 hole as Connetquot / Sayville (17-7) came out flying. But the Marines answered with four quick scores in the second period to take control. In Game 2, Long Beach changed its game plan.

"We went with three lines, keeping short shifts," Brand said. "They used a short bench, so what we wanted to do was get a track meet started and hope we could wear them down."

Forty-five minutes later they crossed the finish line as champions.

Shields leads EW to title

East Williston forward Zach Shields suffered a concussion when he faced Manhasset during the regular season, forcing him to miss five games. In the postseason, he was a major reason why Manhasset found itself knocked out.

In its first season as a varsity squad, No. 4 East Williston, the lowest seed in the best-of-three Nassau Liberty division finals, beat No. 3 Manhasset, 5-2, in Game 2 on Wednesday to take the Liberty title. East Williston (8-13-2) won Game 1, 6-4, on Tuesday.

Shields had three goals and two assists in the series, including two scores in the finale.

"We figured we'd move up, struggle and do better the following year," coach Jon Turk said. "We went in with no expectations and now here we are."

Co-captain Jake Levy led the defense while Matthew Bernot scored three empty-net goals to ice each playoff game - including East Williston's 5-2 win over Garden City in the semis - and he scored on a breakaway early in Game 2. Goalie Graham Turk kept the offense of Manhasset (7-13-3) at bay.