Squirt Minor ‘AAA’ defeat Erie Lions, 3-2

The Amherst Knights Squirt Minor “AAA” hockey team delivered an early Christmas present on Dec. 23.

After a long trip to Erie, Penn., the Knights presented their coaching staff with a well-deserved come from behind 3-2 victory over a previously unbeaten Erie Lions team.

Tight checking was the first period theme as both teams battled hard in the neutral zone. Knight forwards MJ Bronsky, Matthew Ruggiero and defensemen Ellis Smith, Luke Eberhard and John Hazelet won a number of skirmishes which kept the Lions from establishing early momentum.

Midway through the first period, Erie made the first offensive thrust, forcing the puck into goaltender Mark O’Malley’s crease and sending three forwards crashing in on top of the Knights’ defense. O’Malley fought his way through the crowd to gather in the loose puck and force a faceoff.

Erie got on the board first when Daniel Miller let go a snap shot off a right side rebound to give the Lions a 1-0 lead with just two minutes left in the first period.

The Lions scored again when center Trevor Faulkner let go a wrist shot from the center slot. Faulkner’s shot found the top corner and gave his team a 2-0 lead with 9:47 left in the second period.

A little over a minute later, the Knights broke through to score. Dante Todaro won a faceoff to the left of the Lions net. Todaro fought through his opponent and let go a good shot to the short side. The Lion goaltender made the save but could not manage the rebound. Alex Dimitroff moved deftly through the guarded slot, scooped up the rebound and rifled in the Knights’ first goal, beating the Lion goaltender on the glove side.

Chris Winiecki and O’Malley continued to swing the game’s momentum the Knights way with strong back to back plays. Winiecki made a determined rush down the left side then cut toward the net and let go a wrist shot. The rebound bounced wildly but ended up on an Erie Lions’ stick.

Erie broke right back on a 3 on 2 rush that ended with a sensational save and the puck securely embedded in O’Malley’s outstretched glove hand.

With one goal needed to tie the game, Danny Brodzik tussled with an Erie forward and won a battle along the left boards. Mitchell Spring gathered the puck and set his sights down the left side. Picking up speed at center ice, Spring knifed his way through traffic and cut toward the net at the top of the faceoff circle. With one final left to right deke in the center slot, Spring let go a laser that sailed over the top of the Lion goaltender’s outstretched glove that tied the game at 2-2.

Knight goaltender Max Battistoni replaced O’Malley in the second period. Battistoni’s first save had an immediate impact on the game when he was forced to use his lighting glove hand on a right-side Lion launched rocket.

With less than two minutes to go in the second period, Matt Steffan charged into the Lions’ zone in pursuit of the puck. Steffan forced the Lions into a defensive mistake that allowed Danny Tyczynski to gain control along the right boards. Tyczynski took a low shot that scored short side to give his team their first lead of the game, 3-2.

The third period started with Knight defenseman Spring going on his second rush of the game. Spring was looking to pass the puck to a streaking Steffan when one of the Lions defenseman fell down. Spring accelerated, beat the second defenseman, was tripped up from behind and tried to score while flat on the ice. The Knights waited for the referee to call a penalty shot but the signal never came.

Later in the period, Battistoni made the save of the game with a perfectly timed poke-check off a clear breakaway by the Lions captain.

To add to the drama, the Knights took a late penalty. Dylan Lock, Eberhard and Brodzik used strong aggressive pursuit and smart clearing plays to keep the Lions from scoring the game-tying goal.