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Raiders Are Ready

Play In Mixed School Final At KeyBank Center On Monday

Jamestown Raiders coach Jimmy Bergman looks out at the ice surface at KeyBank Center during Media Day on Wednesday. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

BUFFALO — Jimmy Bergman won a Super Sunday championship in 1996 at the Memorial Auditorium.

In 2013, Bergman was an assistant coach for his son Dylan’s team when it won on Super Tuesday at First Niagara Center.

Seven years later, he hopes to lead another team to Western New York High School Club Hockey League glory.

The Jamestown Raiders will take on Royalton-Hartland/Barker/Medina in the Mixed School final Monday at KeyBank Center.

The venue may have changed.

Members of the Jamestown Raiders pose for a photo during Media Day at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Wednesday. From the left are Josh Brown, Devin Wolfe, Jack Yost, Jack Brinkley, Luke Tota, Michael Gerace, Will Turner, Evan Christensen and Cooper Spielman. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

The name of the arena has changed.

But the goal has not.

Captained by senior Jack Brinkley, Jamestown went 13-4-1 in the Red Division this season, outscoring opponents 85-51.

“We talked at the beginning of the season about having three steps. No. 1 was making it to Super Sunday, the second step was making it to states and our final destination is to hit states and win it,” Bergman said Wednesday morning during media day at the home of the Buffalo Sabres. “We knew we had a big roster with a lot of great talent. We just needed to put it together.”

The Raiders feature a well-balanced lineup with 14 players that have scored multiple goals, led by Brinkley (11) and sophomore Jed Hirliman (10).

The team hopes it can celebrate like it did last week, in photo below, in a victory over Olean at Northwest Arena to earn a berth in the state tournament. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

“We use it to our advantage. When we have our lines rolling, we keep fresh legs out on the ice,” Brinkley said of a roster that features 20 skaters. “It’s more of a positive than a negative and has helped us in the long run.”

Junior Cooper Bergman, Jimmy’s younger son, leads the team in points with 22 while juniors Tristan Spillane and Declan Brown each have 18.

“Fortunately, we have four lines — to be honest with you, right at this point all four lines are producing,” Bergman said. “You don’t normally see that. Usually you’ll have one, possibly two. Once in a great while you’ll see a team with three decent lines, but to have four that can put the puck in the net … it’s kind of really unheard of.”

Defensively, Jamestown is led by juniors Devin Wolfe (13 points) and Brendan Hirliman (12 points), but Wolfe will likely miss the game due to an injury suffered last weekend during a semifinal series against Olean.

“We have seven or eight defensemen,” Bergman said. ” … It’s very nice to have the ability and depth at forward and on defense.”

Junior Jack “Eddie” Yost and sophomore Jackson Roth have split time in net this season.

The Raiders have outscored opponents, 85-51, this winter while RBM has a similar differential of 81-49, but the third-place team in the White Division has done it with more of a top-heavy lineup.

Senior Jason Kuchey leads RBM with 24 goals and 42 points, senior Nicholas Wood has 18 goals and 31 points, and sophomore Ryan Metler has 12 goals and 22 points.

“They definitely deserve to be up at the top of their division. They move the puck well … but I think we can dominate them with our forecheck and our speed,” Bergman said. “We have two lines that definitely are more of our defensive lines when they need to be. … I’m pretty sure that any of our lines can take on their leading scorers.”

Senior goaltender Andrew Warner has been the only player between the pipes for RBM this season, posting a 13-4-0 record.

“We were moved down because we had a lot of seniors graduate,” Kuchey said Wednesday morning. “It was tough facing Wilson/Newfane and City Honors, but other than that it’s been pretty smooth sailing.”

The same teams met two years ago in the championship game with RBM walking away with a 4-1 victory.

“It was a good experience. It was a tight game. Scoring in that game and celebrating after was the most memorable part. The feeling of the fans coming to see you is special,” Kuchey said. “It’s memorable. We want to soak it all in because it’s my senior year. We’ve been here three years in a row and last year we lost so we want to bounce back as seniors.”

Jamestown got revenge later in the 2018 season when it beat RBM for the state title in the New York State High School Club Hockey final at Northwest Arena.

“When I was a sophomore, unfortunately we lost (at Super Sunday), but I still reminisce about that,” Brinkley said Wednesday. “Coming in as a senior, I’m really looking forward to it. If we don’t win, it’s not the end of the world because we’ll still share those memories as teammates and as brothers.”

Despite winning the state title in 2018, the Raiders hope this time they can pull off the double with a “Super Monday” win and a state championship — which will again be played at Northwest Arena next weekend.

“You are going to have nerves. You made it to the big show in a big building. The atmosphere is phenomenal, but just go out and relax,” Bergman said would be his message to the team. ” … Have fun, enjoy it and play hard, but don’t play nervous.”

NOTES: Monday’s Mixed School final begins at 4 p.m. with $8 admission for adults and $5 admission for students. … Canisius and Orchard Park will play in the Large School final at 6 p.m. before City Honors/Cardinal O’Hara and East Aurora/Holland play in the Small School final at 8 p.m. … The Raiders jayvee team will play for the “Super Saturday” title at 9 this morning against Eden/Lake Shore/Pioneer/Springville. … St. Francis and Orchard Park will play at 10:30 before Starpoint and Grand Island play at 12:45 p.m.

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