Amherst Mite Minor 'AAA' finalists in Erie tourney

The Amherst Mite Minor "AAA" travel hockey team traveled to Erie, Pa. for the Erie Youth Hockey Association's Fall Face-Off Tournament.

Southpointe 5, Amherst 4

Amherst faced off once again with the Southpointe Rink Rats in the Mite 99 Division Championship held on Sunday morning.

Southpointe opened up the scoring. Nate Berke got a rebound goal after a hard shot by Ryan Sidorski hit the post.

During an Amherst power play, Camden Lock followed through on a shot by Berke to give Amherst a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period.

Amherst kept the pressure on as Frankie Sciolino, assisted by Sidorski earned yet another Amherst tally. A mere 25 seconds later, Adam Batz went on the attack to give Amherst a 4-1 lead. However, Southpointe rallied to earn three unanswered goals to tie it up 4-4 at the end of regulation.

With only 40 seconds remaining in the first overtime period, Southpointe went on the power

play. Clutch player Jack Clendaniel was simply unstoppable as he broke away to net Southpointe's game-winning goal.

Amherst 6, Erie 1

Amherst's strong team play on Saturday afternoon was enough to cage the Erie Lions on their own ice.

Nate Berke raised the bar, as he impressed the crowd with his inspired play. At one point, he spun around on bended knee to block an Erie attack.

Blake Flanders netted Amherst's first goal from a Adam Batz rebound.

With 14 seconds remaining in the first period, Carson Briere sneaked one through the Erie netminder's five-hole.

In the second period, Berke weaved effortlessly through the Erie defense to fire one over the goalie's glove hand.

One minute later, defenseman Jack Kelly carried the puck in to shoot it through the five-hole. Batz broke from the pack to earn his first goal of the game.

Despite a great initial save by Amherst's Caleb Hannon, Erie scored their only goal off a rebound.

Although short-handed, Briere capitalized on a defensive turnover and pounded in yet another goal to give Amherst the victory.

Amherst 7, Jamestown 2

On Saturday, Amherst faced the Jamestown Lakers at dawn.

Nate Berke and Colton McKenna earned Amherst's first two tallies. A shot by Adam Batz was just shy of crossing the goal line, but Carson Briere was there to slam it in to give Amherst a 3-0 lead. Jamestown's first point came on a nice breakaway goal.

Less than a minute into the second period, Amherst's Frankie Sciolino scored on his backhand after a solid pass from defenseman Jack Kelly. During a scrum in front of Jamestown's net, it was Camden Lock who assisted Berke for Amherst's fourth goal. Jamestown took advantage of a

power play opportunity to earn their second goal of the game. Berke responded by rifling a shot to the upper right corner of Jamestown's net.

Camden Lock, assisted by linemates Ryan Sidorski and Berke earned the lone goal of the third period. Solid play from defensemen Devin Kasperek, Matt Slick, Jordan Martin, Patrick Mangan and Mark Gilbert contributed greatly to Amherst's success in the game. Amherst's Michael Gagliano was the game-winning goalie.

Amherst 5, Southpointe 5

Mercyhurst College was the setting for the match-up between Amherst and the Southpointe Rink Rats a solid 98/99 combined team from Pittsburgh.

Only 13 seconds had ticked off the game clock when Carson Briere put Amherst on the scoreboard with a nice slap shot. Southpointe tied it up at 1-1, but with only 5.2 seconds remaining,

Colton McKenna took the rebound off the glove of Southpointe's netminder to give Amherst a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period.

Southpointe came back to tie it up 2-2. Briere's second goal came from a wrist shot he lifted past Southpointe's goalie. Less than 30 seconds later, a hard shot by Ryan Sidorski dinged the crossbar, but Nate Berke was there to slam in the rebound and earn Amherst a 4-2 lead.

Southpointe responded with two successive goals. Berke earned a hat trick after coming out on top in a hard fought scrum to give Amherst a 5-4 lead, but Southpointe was able to rally to tie the game at 5-5.

Goaltender Caleb Hannon used his stick and glove to make several nice saves throughout the game. The crowd gasped as Hannon used his glove to punch away an oncoming shot by Southpointe.