The Pelham 12U AA ice hockey team will play in the New York State Amateur Hockey Championships on Friday in Buffalo, after rolling up a dizzying record of  60 wins, 10 losses and 3 ties since the season began at the end of August.

The Pelham youth team, which also goes by the same Pelicans moniker as the two-time state champion PMHS team, went 10-0 in the Hudson Valley League, is ranked seventh in New York and 75th in the country. Most recently, they won the Eastern Junior Elite Prospects League Diamond Division playoffs with a 10-2 victory in the final over the Red Bank Generals from New Jersey.

“All our three lines are pretty even,” said Hans Helmer of Pelham Hockey. “We often shift which line starts first. It is hard to identify a single best player because we are so well rounded.”

The team includes three girls. 

The Pelicans won the Silver Sticks AA Regional Championship in Pennsylvania in October and made it to the quarterfinals of the International Silver Sticks Finals in Port Huron, Michigan, in January. Last season, they won the 12U A Regional Championship and reached the semifinals of the International Silver Sticks.

The Pelham 12Us have also played in tournaments in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Last month, they hosted a team from Japan and another from British Columbia. The teams were in the area to compete in the New York Islanders Youth Tournament and then head to a large international tourney in Quebec. Pelham defeated the Japanese team 9-1 and the Canadian team 5-1 over the space of two days.

The Pelicans are are coached by Pelham parents and long-time youth hockey coaches Jim Wierstra, Tyler Garrow and Joe Senerchia. Pelham Middle School hockey players on the team include Luigi Di Cristofano, Will Garrow, Ian Hearle, Zoe Helmers, Derek Johnsen, Owen Murrell, Jayden North, Joe Senerchia and Owen Wierstra.