Bishop McCort Crimson Crushers - 1994-1995-1996-1997-1999 A

CRANBERRY - Central Catholic's nickname is the Vikings, who are effectionately known in their brief 2001-2002 season as 'Midnight Madness'. A game tying goal against North Hills with just 31 seconds remaining in the opener and Tuesday affair with Brian Cersosimo's upstart Seneca Valley Raiders. Less than a minute into the first, SV's Dave Syska pounced on a rebound to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead. Central's Jeff Race and Glen Donahue scored less than a minute apart to give the Vikings a 2-1 lead at the end of one period. Central's Pete Wood took a CJ Bruce pass and beat John Hoffman to extend the lead to 3-1. But Seneca showed character as speedy Trevor Kuhlmann and Chris Hudson tallied to deadlock the game at 3-3. Race gave Cetral the lead back as he took a Hoffman rebound and beat him on the backhand with 3:50 remaining in the second. Eddie Martin then picked up a Race rebound on the power play and slammed it home to give the Vikings a two goal lead. John Zegarelli gave the Raiders new life with a goal with just :21 seconds remaining. In the third both teams had several chances, but the curfew clock decided another close game when it was halted with :19 seconds left. The rule that never seems to go away....while the league administration is at home sleeping and is worried more about frivilous items, its opportunity to become a legitimate school sport and have marketability and integrity are shallowed by a minor league rule, as Seneca watched any chance of tying diminish with the curfew buzzer (Imagine if that was a Woodland Hills - Penn Hills Football game... Riot gear would be appropriate). Final Score - Central Catholic 5 Seneca Valley 4

CRANBERRY - Brian Hershberger's North Allegheny squad has a very good memory. It remembers that Meadville was the team who dashed the Tigers Penguin Cup hopes just a few months ago. Conversely, Jamie Plunkett knows who beat his Bulldogs out a the PIHL West Lake division title last season. An important early season matchup between # 2 NA and # 3 Meadville. North Allegheny's Tyler Haldane struck fast scoring twice to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. Tim Ward got into the act with 1:13 remaining in the 1st and again with three seconds remaining to give NA a 4-0 lead at the break. After Meadville cut the lead to 4-1 on a power play goal, Haldane took a pass from Jeff Hall and chipped it over the Bulldog goalie to make it 5-1 and complete the hat trick. Rick Thomas took a beautiful feed from Chrstian Nickerson less than a minute later and beat Thierry Clermont to make it 5-2. The teams traded goals in the third period as Meadville dominated with 13 shots to NA's 3. But it as a matter of too little ...too late for the Bulldogs, as North Allegheny went on to win 6-3.

MONROEVILLE - Bethel Park struggled in its opening game of the 2001-2002 regular season in a 4-1 win against McDowell. Playing without leading scorer Justin Glock looked like a prime opportunity for Penn Hills to take advantage of the two-time defending State Champion Blackhawks. Think again ! Bethel came out with a vengence in the first period as Jason McLean led the attack with two goals and Tim Hramika and Nick D'Alessandro added singles to give the Blackhawks a 4-0 lead just 6:36 into the game. Brandon Hanley added insult to injury as he made it 5-0 on a rebound goal late in the first period. Then the smothering defense, which allowed Penn Hills only 11 shots, a little high by Bethel standards and a second Hanley tally in the 3rd gave the Hawks a 6-0 victory and firm grip on its # 1 ranking. Penn Hills did improve its territory play in the third, but was no match for a hungry Bethel Park team. Delbert Joo got the shutout for the Hawks.

VALENCIA Mars and Quaker Valley were foes in the PIHL West Division last season and both were looking to make a move this season's Class A standings. Coach Joe Honzo's club return a good nucleus of experienced player, while Quaker Valley has a mix of returning talent plus a few foreign exchange players to fill out a promising squad for Coach Kevin Quinn. The Mars top line of Steve Meyers, Bobby Beckert and Bob Finney scorched the Quakers for five goals and led a 44-17 shot onslaught to give the Planets a 6-2 victory. The Quakers Dusan Katlovsky chipped in both goals in a losing effort for QV.

VALENCIA - Kittanning coach Jeff Smouse knew his opening game against Pine Richland will go a long way in judging where the Wildcats will sit in the AA North Division. George Reed's Pine Richland Rams are looking for their 3rd consecutive division title and have depth, speed and skill. Kittanning and Pine Richland was like a heavyweight fight in the first period as both teams threw a few jabs with no knockout punchs. Then Wildcat veteran Colt Hileman picked up a loose rebound and beat Dan Mills to give Kittanning a 1-0 lead. PR's Matt Krysa tied the game at 1-1 beating Adam Toy on the wrist shot. The game picked up physically in the third period as the Rams kept the territorial advantage and it paid off when Adam Fodor beat Toy through the 5-Hole to give PR the 2-1 lead. The Rams continued to pen up the Wildcats with great neutral zone play and looked to well on their way to win # 1 with under a minute to play. After a great save by Toy, Smouse called a timeout. Kittanning Brandon Beatty spotted a teammate behind the Ram defense and Shane Troup picked up a rebound and beat Mills with just 26 seconds left to tie the game. The teams played through OT and the Wildcats earned a big point, which could pay off toward the end of the season.