Blades edge Knights Squirt Minor 'AAA' in Top Gun finals

The Amherst Knights Squirt Minor "AAA" hockey team took a 3-0-1 record into the finals of the Top Gun Championship Tournament held on Monday, Jan. 15 but lost in the championship game to the Wheatfield Blades, 5-2.

Wheatfield, after losing to Amherst in the opening game of the tournament, came out strong in the first period, scoring four unanswered goals.

Amherst finally got on the board when Alex Dimitroff anticipated and stole a pass at center ice. Dimitroff went in alone on the Wheatfield goaltender and scored glove side to get his team on the score sheet.

In the third period, Amherst started a late comeback bid when Matt Steffan scored the Knights' second goal of the game. Dante Todaro rushed down the right side and put a perfect pass on the stick of an on-rushing Steffan.

Steffan buried his shot to make the score 4-2 with eight minutes left in the game. With the Knights pressing, Wheatfield scored a late goal to win the championship game, 5-2.

Amherst 5, Depew 1

The Amherst Knights Squirt Minor "AAA" hockey team needed a victory or a tie over the Depew Saints on Jan. 14 to advance to the Top Gun Tournament championship at the Amherst Pepsi Center.

Playing an opponent they had only defeated one time this year, the Knights scored five goals to defeat the Depew Saints, 5-1.

In the first period, the Knights got on the board first when Chris Winiecki scored on a clean breakaway. Alex Dimitroff sent Winiecki in alone down the right side. Winiecki outhustled the defenseman to the center slot, took a good look at the Depew goaltender and went top -shelf to score the Knights' first goal.

Just a few minutes later, Depew tied the game at 1-1. Late in the first period, Knight defenseman Mitchell Spring went one-on-one with a Depew forward and turned the play the other way. In transition, Knight Dylan Lock broke free for a clean breakaway and scored to give the Knights a 2-1 lead.

In the second period, Knight forward Dante Todaro made an outside move entering the Depew zone. Todaro stopped on a dime and sent a centering pass into the crease. Todaro followed his pass in and scored the Knights third goal of the game.

Midway through the second, goaltender Max Battistoni made a tough shoulder save to keep Depew from cutting into the lead. Following that, Luke Eberhard made a slick defensive move. Eberhard poke-checked the puck cleanly off his opponent's stick, gained control and drew a penalty after being tripped up at his own blue line. On the ensuing power play, Lock scored his second goal of the game to give the Knights a 4-1 lead.

Goaltender Max Battistoni followed up that goal with two back-to-back saves just 30 seconds apart, keeping the Saints off the board as the teams entered the final period of play.

In the third period, both teams played hard. Matthew Ruggiero, MJ Bronsky and defenseman Ellie Smith used some strong stick checking and smart body positioning to ward off a number of challenges by the Depew forwards.

Owen Green finished the game strong, scoring the Knights; fifth goal, further securing his teams place in the Top Gun Championship finals.

Amherst 3, Hamburg 3

The Amherst Knights Squirt Minor "AAA" hockey team played their third game of the Top Gun Tournament on Jan. 14, tying the Hamburg Hawks, 3-3, at the Amherst Pepsi Center.

With a record of 2-0-0 in the tournament, the Amherst Knights came out with great energy in the first period. Mitchell Spring started the game strong, holding the puck in at the blue line and sending a pass into Owen Green behind the Hawks net. Green found Danny Tyczynski in the slot. Tyczynski made no mistake and scored to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.

Applying some early sustained pressure it looked like the Knights had control of the game. However, a mix up at the blue line sent Hamburg in on a clear breakaway and allowed them to tie the game at 1-1. Undaunted, the Knights kept their energy levels high. Defenseman Danny Brodzik got the Knights moving up ice when he sent Danny Tycznski streaking down the right side with a perfect breakout pass. Knight forwards Chris Winiecki and Alex Dimitroff broke free to get back-to-back scoring chances but could not beat the hot Hamburg goaltender.

As the first period neared its close, the Hawks again got behind the Knights defense and scored to take a one-goal lead.

In the second period, Matthew Steffan tied the game for the Knights with a nice shot that sailed over the Hamburg goaltender's left shoulder.

Steffan challenged the Knight defense in the left faceoff circle, stole the puck and fired a wrist shot to get his team even at 2-2.

Hamburg continued to pressure the Knight defense and broke out with two more potential breakaways but the Knights Brodzik and Dimitroff backchecked hard to run down the Hawk wingers from behind. In the third period, the Hawks scored on a power play to take the lead again, 3-2.

With just two minutes left, Knight forward Dante Todaro jumped off the bench like a man on a mission. Todaro charged into the Hamburg zone in relentless pursuit of the puck. Gaining control behind the net, Todaro spotted Green in the slot and sent him a quick pass. Green was challenged by the Hamburg defense but managed to launch a shot that the Hawk goaltender saved. The rebound was left in the crease until Tyczynski moved in and forced the puck over the goal line to give the Knights a 3-3 tie.

Amherst 2, Perinton 1

The Amherst Knights Squirt Minor "AAA" hockey team gained their second victory in the Amherst Top Gun Tournament on Jan. 13, defeating Perinton, 2-1, at the Amherst Pepsi Center.

The evenly matched teams battled hard throughout the game. The first period ended scoreless as the Knights found themselves in penalty trouble.

Defensemen John Hazelet and Danny Brodzik along with forwards Dante Todaro and Alex Dimitroff worked well together killing off the early penalties.

At even strength, forward Owen Green gave the Knights their best scoring chances with two strong rushes. On the first, Green challenged the Perinton wingers on the left boards, picked up a bouncing puck off his chest, gained control and cut right through the Perinton crease. His second rush went through the center slot and ended with a hard back-hand. The Perinton goaltender was sharp and kept the Knights off the board.

The second period opened with Knight Mitchell Spring taking a rush down the right side. Spring rushed through the Perinton faceoff circle but was tripped up while cutting in toward the net. The Knights scored on the ensuing power play. Knight Danny Tyzynski took a hard shot from the point and Green pounced on the rebound to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.

Later in the second, the Knights were in penalty trouble again. Todaro, Brodzik, Spring, Ellie Smith, Dmitrov, Green and Tyzynski all played a role in killing off the penalty and keeping the Knights in the lead.

With the Knights clinging to a one-goal lead, Knight goaltender Mark O'Malley made a super chest save to start the third period. Defenseman Luke Eberhard used some strong stick work to clear his corner and get the puck up to the Knight wingers.

As the game neared its close, the two teams traded scoring chances until Perinton finally beat O'Malley to tie the game. O'Malley remained focused as later in the period he made an aggressive daring poke check on a Perinton winger with less than one minute to play.

With 35 seconds left in the game, the play turned the other way. Dylan Lock found some open ice and broke down the left side.

As Lock approached the blue line, he made a quick left to right move on the defenseman and broke right in on goal. Lock launched a rocket that found the back of the net and gave his team a stunning 2-1 victory. The victory gave the Knights a 2-0-0 record in the Top Gun Tournament standings.

Amherst 3, Wheatfield 1

The Amherst Knights Squirt Minor "AAA" hockey team opened the Top Gun Hockey Tournament on Jan. 12, defeating the Wheatfield Blades, 3-1 at the Amherst Pepsi Center.

The Knights' initial game was a team effort and the defensive pairing of Mitchell Spring and Ellie Smith set the games momentum flowing in Amherst's direction with three solid defensive breakups.

Owen Green gave the Knights their first scoring chance when he picked up a loose puck at center ice and took it right to the net. Matthew Steffan and MJ Bronsky followed up that play with an offensive thrust of their own. With the puck loose along the right boards inside the Blades zone, Bronsky gained control and took a hard low wrist shot to the short side. While Steffan forced his way into the crease area, Bronsky's shot deflected in off the Wheatfield goaltender to give Amherst a 1-0 lead.

In the middle of the first period, Wheatfield gained possession through center ice and broke in to get two solid wrist shots on Amherst goaltender Max Battistoni. On both occasions, Battistoni smothered the puck at the top of the crease, keeping the dangerous Wheatfield forwards off the board.

With the first period nearing its close, defenseman John Hazelet played strong inside the Wheatfield blue line feeding the puck to Matthew Ruggiero in the corner. Ruggiero worked the puck to Alex Dimitroff on the left side of the Wheatfield net. Dimitroff found Chris Winiecki with a nice pass to the right side. Winiecki scored when he one-timed a snap shot to give the Knights a 2-0 lead.

Just two minutes later, the Blades scored to cut the Knights lead in half, as the first period ended with the Knights leading 2-1.

In the second period, Knights defenseman Luke Eberhard found the net with a nice shot from the blue line. Eberhard took a pass at the point, moved in slightly, then rifled a shot right along the ice to score the Knights third goal of the game.

Later in the period, the Blades found a crease in the Knights defense and went in on a clear break-away. Battistoni held firm as the second period ended with the Knights leading 3-1.

The third period was a tight checking defensive battle. Knight Danny Brodzik opened the period with a strong left side board battle that transitioned his team up ice. Defenseman Hazelet and Smith worked hard throughout the third as the Blades battled relentlessly to get back in the game.

Squirt Red Sabres

blank White Sabres, 3-0

In Amherst Youth Hockey Squirt action on Saturday, the Red Sabres defeated the White Sabres, 3-0.

Red Sabre goalie Andrew Welchoff earned his second shutout of the season.

Defense was once again the focus as the Red Sabre defensemen constantly pushed the White Sabre shooters to the outside and kept them off balance from start to finish. Matthew Deeb led the way defensively as he played his best game of the season. Alex Gervase, Anthony Sarcinelli, Matthew Tripi and Max Tracy also had outstanding games.

The Red Sabre offense was led by Michael Geiger, who had a pair of goals in the second period, and Adam Tucker, who also scored late in the opening period.

Dominic Caruso and Andrew Meyer both played very well as they found themselves around the puck all game and made some excellent passes.

The White Sabres saw George Korn, Samantha Johnson and Alley Lillis play great games as they tried to get their team on the board.