Mike Gorton's breakaway goal with 2:20 left in overtime lifted Suffern, ranked fourth in New York State, to a thrilling 5-4 win over third-ranked Mamaroneck Saturday night in front of a loud, overflowing crowd at the Hommocks Park Ice Rink in Larchmont.
After Suffern (10-1) scored two goals 17 seconds apart midway through the third to take a commanding 4-1 lead, the Tigers stormed back by scoring three goals in a span of 4:09 to tie the game before Gorton's heroics sent Suffern to victory in sudden death overtime.
Mamaroneck (10-1) was led by Sam Christiansen, who scored two goals and assisted on another. It was the senior captain's second multi-goal game of his career (February 21, 2008 vs. Eastchester/Tuckahoe/Bronxville).
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Mamaroneck's comeback started with 5:21 left in the third. Senior defenseman Tim Taussig fired a pass to Christiansen, who skated to the left dot and lasered the puck past Suffern goalie Tyler Stark.
Then, with the Tigers on the power play after Suffern's Jon Fuchs took a holding penalty, Tigers leading scorer Joe Naclerio, standing in the slot, took a great feed from behind the net by Matt Connor and sent the puck into twine, bringing the capacity crowd to its feet and Mamaroneck to within one with 3:18 left.
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The tally was Naclerio's team-leading 19th of the season. He added an assist in the second period. His 14 assists give him a team-leading 33 points through his team's first 11 games.
After junior forward Scott Hagan drew an interference penalty with 2:24 left in the third, he swatted a rebound into the net, sending the Mamaroneck student section into delirium with 1:12 left in the third.
Then, after Mamaroneck goaltender Alex Harwood stopped one breakaway attempt in overtime, Suffern's Kevin Norwin sent a great feed to Gorton, who broke in alone and wired the puck toward Harwood's water bottle. As Suffern celebrated its goal near the "White-Out" Mamaroneck student section, the Tigers were left to lament their first loss since last year's State Championship game.
Before tonight's game, Mamaroneck had won 26 of its last 27 games, dating back to last season's matchup against Suffern at Hommocks, which ended in a 2-2 tie.
Tonight's game will be televised by LMC-TV next weekend. It will air Friday, Jan. 15 through Sunday, Jan. 17 at 8:00 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 16 through Monday, January 18 at 1:00 p.m. The game will air on Cablevision channel 77 and Verizon channel 34.
