Club Hockey
North varsity club hockey unbeaten in six

Williamsville North's club hockey team has been on a roll.

In the past six games, the Spartans have won three and tied three other times against some of the best high school teams in the area.

Goaltender Marcus Palmisano started and won his first two games of the season. In his first game, he made 27 stops in a 4-3 decision over Niagara Catholic. He recorded his first shutout in a 7-0 win on Saturday night against Livingston County.

Goaltender Ryan Malinowski has earned a win and three ties in his last four outings against powerhouse teams Jamestown, Grand Island, Niagara Falls and Lockport.

Coach Neil Ritz has been extremely pleased with the consistency of the team as he continues to roll four lines and six defensemen. He's also pleased with the balance of scoring from the forwards. Overall, the scoring has been balanced.

The defensive pairings of David Stark, Andrew Utech, Tim Ritz, Kyle Bowers, Brian Cavagnaro and Eric Szymczak has been great throughout the season. Very few turnovers in their own end has helped keep the opponents off the scoreboard.

Austin Benshadle has been on a goal-scoring streak. In his last four games, Benshadle has recorded eight goals to help the team record wins over Livingston County and Lockport.

Eric Fischer scored his first goal of the season against Livingston County. Also scoring throughout the six-game win streak are forwards Matt Battista, CJ Waggoner, Collin Schreiner, Alex Hajduczok, Eric Johnston, CJ Nocera, Daric Will, Jason Fitzpatrick, Eric Arbogast and Chris Carbone.

North is ranked in the top-ten in the large school poll.