The Jayhawks beat Canisius 7-2 on Sunday at Northwest Arena to claim the Upstate New York Club Hockey League’s Division 3 title.

“The Canisius game was 1-1 after the first period, they tied the game with .5 seconds left in the first period. We went up 3-1 after two periods and they made it 3-2 early in the third period, but then we took over from there,” Jamestown CC head coach Tommy Gerace said Tuesday morning. “We scored four unanswered goals. For the championship game, it by far, was the most complete game that our team played throughout the season.

“The pillars we preach from August until now that we check off at the end of the game, we completed every single pillar for three periods for the first time all year,” Gerace added. “It was a complete team game, which was incredibly impressive.”

Captain Nate Stephens led the Jayhawks with a hat trick against the Griffs.

Jamestown Community College goaltender James-Anthony Roch goes down for a save during the first period of Sunday’s UNYCHL Division 3 championship game. Roch was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Photo courtesy of Alex Kolstee

“Leading by example is what Nate Stephens has done. The captain is supposed to be an extension of the coaching staff, the values we preach, the work ethic we preach,” Gerace said. “He put his money where his mouth is Sunday and stepped up on the scoresheet as well as where he always does in the locker room and on the bench.”

Jamestown CC topped Gannon 7-3 on Saturday night to advance to the championship game.

“Saturday’s game, we were up 1-0 after the first period, 2-1 after two periods. We exploded for five goals in the third,” Gerace said. “It was a tightly contested game. I think some nerves had something to do with it. We were playing in front of just under 1,500 people Saturday night, which was amazing.

Cooper Bergman, an Ashville native, led the Jayhawks on Saturday with a hat trick.

“I’ve known the Bergman family for a long time and grew up playing with Cooper’s older brother, Dylan,” Gerace said.

JCC captain Nate Stephens celebrates his hat-trick goal in the third period of Sunday’s game against Canisius at Northwest Arena. Photo courtesy of Alex Kolstee

“To have Cooper on this team the inaugural season and this season has been a really good piece of glue to bring together different ages of local kids and to help bring together outside talent,” Gerace added. “His experience playing junior hockey and knowing what it takes to mold guys together, all aside from his game on the ice, which I’ve always loved … he’s been a leader and an offensive weapon for us.”

For the weekend, Stephens led the way with four goals and an assist while Bergman had three goals and two assists. Noah Kellogg also had three goals and two assists. Brandon Smith, Christian Greaves, Coleson Barber and Malik Powell each added a goal while Smith, Nate Sercu, Cooper Shelters and Kyler Wojtowicz each had an assist.

Goaltender James-Anthony Roch was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after stopping 60 of 65 shots he faced.

“‘Frenchie’ was the Great Wall of Roch,” Gerace said of his goaltender from Laval in Quebec. “Throughout the year we had a good goaltending tandem between James and Stathi Theofilactidis. … When we got down to the wire it was difficult to choose. James had won a couple of big games so we trusted him to get the job done. Great goaltending can win you a championship and it did this weekend for us.”

The Jayhawks qualified for the playoffs by winning the UNYCHL’s Central Division over SUNY Geneseo, Alfred State, University of Rochester, Onondaga CC and Ithaca College with a 7-0-1 league record. In addition to Canisius and Gannon, the West Division included Penn State Behrend, Fredonia State, Mercyhurst and Allegheny College. Overall, the Jayhawks were 13-7-1 during the regular season.

“Our first practice I knew we could be this good,” Gerace said. “We were able to bring in a lot more talent outside of our local body. I think that the chemistry out of the gate that players were able to develop shined through and only grew stronger as the year went on. The influx of talent and compete level that we had was evident to help us get it done by February.”

Gerace believes Jamestown Community College’s program can grow to a higher level. Currently, the Jayhawks play in Division 3 of the UNYCHL and are an AAU college hockey team. The highest level a junior college can play at is in the American Collegiate Hockey Association. There are also opportunities to play for an AAU national championship, but the current team did not meet credit hour requirements for that competition.

“The ultimate goal is to reach the highest point possible from a competitive standpoint and with community support,” Gerace said. “I want this program to grow as far as I can possibly take it.”

The Jayhawks — who are also coached by Joe Gerace, Chris Henderson and Alex Carlson — are actively recruiting for the 2026-27 season and will be holding their annual prospect skate Saturday, May 2 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at Northwest Arena. Players ages 16 and up are welcome. The cost is $25. Optional tours of Jamestown Community College’s campus will also be available that weekend.

“I knew what would work and what wouldn’t work creating this team. … We have an incredible support system in Jamestown that other teams in our league don’t come close to having. I believe that is an absolute intangible for us to have success. It gets our players to play at a higher level knowing they have a community behind them at each home game,” Gerace said. “I firmly believe that this program will continue to grow even further. This second season was a massive step for us in terms of talent growth, recruitment, fan attendance, community support and giving back to the community through various promotional nights that we had.”

For more information, contact Gerace at jccjayhawkshockey@gmail.com.