Tigers' hockey defeats South, continues solid play

Williamsville South goalie Matt Green makes a blocker save on Amherst's Dan Hubbard in the third period of Saturday's game. The Tigers won, 3-1. Photo by David F. Sherman Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com

Senior Matt Allwes scored with one minute left in the game, and sophomore Sean Smith made 22 saves as the Amherst Central Federation hockey team defeated Williamsville South, 3-1, on Saturday afternoon at the Amherst Pepsi Center's Olympic Rink.

In a penalty-filled game, the Tigers overcame 24 infractions to edge the Billies. South had 11 penalties.

"We certainly didn't make it easy on ourselves," said Amherst coach Rich Crozier. "We were very undisciplined as a team and lucky to still be in the hockey game. While there were a number of calls we disagreed with, my team needs to have better composure and handle adversity even if it did seem that the officials were against us."

South was able to get on the board first early. On the power play, Darren Powers knocked down a shot that Smith handled. Powers picked up his own rebound and slid it into the open net.

Amherst Central's A.J. DiLorenzo, left, battles Niagara Falls' Matt Paonessa for the puck during the Tigers' 3-2 loss to the Wolverines last Thursday at Niagara University's Dwyer Arena. DiLorenzo scored his first career Federation goal in the game.

After killing off eight penalties in a row, the Tigers were able to tie the game, also on the power play. After some really good movement with the man advantage, senior Al McQuiggan passed the puck to junior defensemen Kevin Denny, who took a quick shot on net. South goalie Matt Green handled the initial shot, but senior Blake Napierala picked up the rebound and hammered it home.

"That was a big goal for my hockey team," said Crozier. "We had been working on the power play all week in practice. Our special teams have been much improved as of late."

The score remained tied at 1-1 until late in the third period. With a minute left in the game, the Tigers put some major pressure on the Billies.

After senior Dan Hubbard was stopped on a breakaway, the Tigers pinned South deep in their zone. Hubbard eventually stole the puck from the South defender and passed it quickly to sophomore defensemen Chris Farmelo. Farmelo fired the puck on net that Allwes tipped perfectly. The puck hit the crossbar and went into the net, giving the Tigers a 2-1 lead with less than a minute left in the game.

"What a great example of determination by Hubbard," said Crozier. "While most players may have given up on the play after missing the breakaway, he stuck with it and set up the game winner. I spoke to my seniors before the game and told them they needed to start playing like seniors and leading this team."

Allwes, Hubbard, Napierala, McQuiggan and Mike Gruttaduria, all seniors, played a big role in the Tigers' win.

"We were able to get some really good performances from my upperclassmen," said Crozier. "They were the difference in the game."

Senior Mike Gruttaduria sealed the victory for the Tigers when he scored in the empty net with 14 seconds remaining.

"I am just thrilled that we overcame the adversity of the officiating and were able to get our first victory of the season," said Crozier. "We've worked really hard over the past two months to finally get this win. Hopefully, it's a sign of things to come."

On Thursday night, Amherst took on Niagara Falls High School at Dwyer Arena on the campus on Niagara University.

The Tigers started the scoring on the power play when senior A.J. DiLorenzo scored the first of his career. After some really nice movement on the power play, Farmelo fed the puck to McQuiggan. McQuiggan faked the shot and gave it to DiLorenzo. Crozier said DiLorenzo has one of the hardest shots in the league.

"It was nice to see A.J. notch his first," said Crozier. "We have been telling him that if he can get that big shot of his on net, good things will happen, and finally he did."

Even though the Tigers controlled most of the play, Niagara Falls tallied the next three, two of which were on the power play, to take a 3-1 lead into the third period.

"Two small breakdowns on the penalty kill cost us bad," said Crozier. "Special teams can be the difference with the competitive nature of our division. We outplayed them for most of the game and still lost the game. It was a tough lesson for my hockey team to learn."

The Tigers made it 3-2 early in the third when McQuiggan scored his second point of the game. After getting a pass from Hubbard, McQuiggan broke down the wing hard. He beat the Falls' defensemen to the net and slid the puck by the goalie. For Mc- Quiggan, it was his sixth point of the young season.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, that was all they could rally in their comeback attempt as Niagara Falls hung on for a 3-2 victory.

"This one might be the most disappointing of the season," said Crozier. "We outplayed and outshot them (30-21), yet still lost the hockey game. The positive is that this team continues to play well. We've been in every game but one this season. We're very close right now. We're keeping it positive, knowing that it's only a matter of time that things will go our way." Smith made 19 saves.

The Tigers face St. Francis at 7 p.m. on Thursday on the Pepsi Center's Feature Rink.