Knights Squirt Minor 'AAA' wins close games

The Amherst Knights Squirt Minor "AAA" hockey team defeated a strong West Seneca team, 4-3, on Saturday at the Amherst Pepsi Center.

Matthew Steffan scored back-to-back goals in the first and second periods to give his team a 2-0 lead. On the first, Owen Green fed Danny Tyczynski with a nice pass that sent him in on goal down the left side. Steffan set himself up to the right of the West Seneca net and punched in the rebound to give his team a 1-0 lead.

In the second period, Dylan Lock sent a pass onto Steffan's stick and sent him in alone on a clear breakaway. Steffan scored stick side.

West Seneca came right back down the ice and scored just a few minutes later to make the score 2-1. Cullen Kane rifled in a wrist shot to get his team on the board. Carson Gicewicz assisted.

In the third period, Knight forward Dante Todaro took a rush through the West Seneca crease and scored on a nice back-hand shot that went over the goaltender's shoulder to give his team a 3-1 lead. Green scored the Knights' last goal when he charged the West Seneca defenseman at his own blue line and picked up the puck off his shin pads. Green went in alone on the West Seneca goaltender and scored the Knights' fourth goal of the game.

Gicewicz and Adam Tobias scored for West Seneca as they made a late charge to get back in the game.

Amherst 1, Tonawanda 0

The Amherst Knights Squirt Minor "AAA" hockey team defeated the Tonawanda Lightning, 1-0, on Jan. 22 at the Amherst Pepsi Center.

In a tight checking battle, Lightning goaltender Lauren Pray and Amherst goaltender Mark O'Malley, shut down the offensive forwards throughout the game. Solid defensive play from Lightning defensemen Gavin Borkowski, Justin Crawford and Jacob Donn helped keep the Knight forwards bottled up for much of the game. Amherst's defensemen, Danny Brodzik, Luke Eberhard, Ellis Smith and John Hazelet matched their opponent's intensity, winning the important board battles inside their own zone.

Lightning goaltender Mitchell Racz came on in the second half of the game and matched the performance of the other goaltenders. Racz gave up just one goal off of a clear breakaway by Knight Danny Tyczynski.