North varsity club hockey wins two over the weekend

When coach Neil Ritz assembled the 2006-07 Williamsville North varsity club hockey team, he was anxious to test their character.

The first exhibition game he scheduled was against three-time state champion, the Cheektowaga Warriors. With North leading until the final minute of the game and losing 2-1, Ritz knew he had something special.

North’s club team is comprised of juniors and seniors from various travel organizations who have represented the school proudly.

North, with two wins over the weekend, pushed their record to 4-1.

Before the weekend, North was ranked in the top-10 for club schools in Western New York. Their only loss came from power house and undefeated Niagara-Wheatfield.

North played Niagara Falls at the Pepsi Center Saturday night and walked away with a hard fought 2-1 victory over the visitors.

After battling through a scoreless first period, Collin Schreiner scored in the second period, banging in the rebound off an Eric Johnston shot. Chris Carbone received an assist on the play.

Ryan Malinowski made several key saves throughout the first and second periods. In his four wins this season, Malinowski has a goals against average of 1.0 and has clearly been the team’s MVP throughout the first five games.

In the third period, the line of Carbone, Schreiner, and Johnston struck again to make it 2-0. Schreiner drove the puck out of the corner and took a shot as Carbone found the rebound and beat the goaltender down low. Erik Szymczak received an assist.

Niagara Falls got on the board with one minute left in the game on a goal by Vinnie Edwards, assisted by Brandon Harbridge and Matt Mack.

The North defense was able to clear the zone in the final minute to help preserve the win for the team.

North got its second win of the weekend with a 2-1 win against North Tonawanda on Sunday afternoon at the Pepsi Center.

Austin Benshadle opened up the scoring by a great pass from Matt Battista. Battista slid the puck over to Benshadle to send him in on a breakaway as Benshadle deaked the goaltender and beat him to the stick side for a 1-0 lead.

The teams played even throughout the second period as Malinowski made several spectacular saves.

In the third period, Jason Fitzpatrick scored his first goal of the season with a nice shot from the slot area that beat the goaltender glove side. Waggoner and Arbogast received assists. Once again, North Tonawanda scored a power-play goal in the final minute of the game to get on the board and make the game close at 2-1. The defense did an excellent job in the final minute of the game.

North’s next home game is at 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 17 at the Pepsi Center.