The Suffern Mounties, who were reigning state hockey champions, got dethroned 3-2 in a bang-the-boards game against the Saratoga Blue Streak in a Division 1 state quarterfinal Saturday night at Sport-O-Rama. For the first time since 2009, Suffern won’t be making the trip to Utica for the state tournament.

“These kids believed and they fought hard,” said longtime Suffern hockey coach Rob Schelling. “I’m so grateful to have coached them. What they did in the sectional championship and tonight again, they could have folded and they didn’t — and that says a lot about them.”

The Mounties got knocked back early when Saratoga scored twice in the first three minutes of the game. Throughout the season, Suffern battled through several key player injuries, as well as the loss of star senior players from last year’s championship team, but continued to roll up a winning record. Last week against rival Mamaroneck, Suffern mounted an epic comeback in the last seconds of the game to cap the team’s fourth consecutive Section 1 championship. Maybe that heroic effort tapped the Mountie magic tank.

Mike Dougherty, LoHud hockey reporter, wrote that throughout Saturday night’s game, “nobody was able to get on the puck to capitalize.” Suffern found themselves boxed in at every turn against the Blue Streaks, just a skate slow to getting the puck where they needed it to go.

“They did a great job,” said Suffern defenseman Anthony Carudo. “Obviously, they studied us and knew where to be. Give them credit for being able to trap us like that.” Carudo said the loss was sort of a sick feeling. “Words can’t even describe this,” he said.

After the loss, Suffern players lingered out on the ice for a long while, taking in the moment and replaying what might have been, their season already melting into memory. But as that old adage goes, there’s always next season.

All photos special courtesy of Richard Gandon, crack photograhper, media mogul and hockey enthusiast.