Downingtown East Cougars

KITTANNING ~ Special Report to Pa Hockey provided by Butler Hockey Club The fans went wild as number 53, Greg Rogerson, with 2:50 left on the overtime clock found the puck at center ice, got a break away and scored, unassisted, to bring Butler its 8th win of the season. Butler started the night off with 2 quick goals in the 1st period. The first came at 13:32 when B.J. Tipton put in goal #1, with an assist from Andy Turner. Only 16 seconds later (13:16), Spencer Crouse hit the net, assisted by B.J. Tipton and Andy Turner. Seneca Valley answered back at 9:13 with its 1st goal by Peet (correct spelling) Poillon, assisted by Matt Cummings and Justin Ball. The 2nd period brought its Seneca's tying goal when at 2:31 Kevin Raynovich found the net, with assists by Rick Seibel and Justin Ball. Each team hit the locker rooms with a tie score of 2-2 Coming out in the 3rd period, Butler's Tyler Druschel was the first to score with Jared White assisting at 12:40. Only 3 1/2 minutes later (9:19) and Seneca tied the game 3-3 when Danny Nelson scored with assists from Peet Poillon and Kevin Raynovich. With the game ending in a 3-3 tie, no break was taken and the 5:00 overtime clock began ticking. Both teams had several opportunities, but goalies Bucky Holt (B) and Jeff Reed (SV) protected their nets amazingly. As luck had it, the puck slipped loose at center ice and the Butler fans held their breath as Greg Rogerson broke away from SV's 2 defenseman and planted a beautiful goal after deeking (spelling?) Seneca's goalie. Seneca Valley's goalie Jeff Reed took 38 shots on goal, saving 34. Butler's goalie Bucky Holt faced 24, stopping 21. Butler is now rated by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette as one of the top 5 teams in their division. They will meet another top 5 rated team on Monday, December 22, 2003 as they play Mt. Lebanon in Mt. Lebanon. Starting time is 7:35 p.m.

NEW KENSINGTON ~ Freeport coach Dave Hepler is in his first year and takes over a team two years removed from a Penguin Cup semi-final appearance. Nick DeCroo was a big part of it as the junior forward scored over 50 goals to lead his team to the promised land, but Nick didn’t play for Freeport last season and only plays on Monday’s this season according to sources close to the team [I’ll give you all 3 guesses as to why ?]. So when leading scorer Dustin Gaworski went down with an injury and the coaches son Zach Hepler went down to an injury, that leaves the Yellow Jackets with just nine healthy skaters. So in a growing trend in Interscholastic Hockey, Freeport is nearing the danger area of not being able to field a team and another sad state of affairs for Western Pa Hockey, which has lost 15 Varsity teams since the PIHL was formed in 1999-2000. Deer Lakes Al Palowski has his own problems with lack of numbers, but has gone the route of bringing in foreign exchange students to fill the void. The Lancers added a new player to their roster in the form of Mike Watson, who has made his mark as an excellent amateur player and is a welcome addition to DL. Deer Lakes had its low point of the season losing to South Division doormat Linsly , but has rebounded with a couple of big wins including a 4-3 upset of Elizabeth Forward and is looking to move into playoff position. Freeport held its own in the first period and forged a 0-0 tie mostly on a great effort by defensive duo of Tommy Ferrante and Scott Gallagher, who only left the ice to get a drink of water. Deer Lakes coach Pawloski had to be concerned, but the newcomer got things started as Mike Watson scored at 13:47 to give the Lancers a 1-0 lead. Matt Romutus continued his hot hand at 10:01 extending the DL lead to 2-0. Watson scored his 2nd goal at 7:54 to expand the lead to 3-0. Josh Schreckengost got Freeport on the board at 6:56, but that was as close as it would get as Rich Bigley scored twice at 6:39 and 2:53 to turn this one into a rout 5-1. On to the third period and Troy Barker pulled Freeport back to 5-2 at 8:43. Deer Lakes countered with three goals of their own as Watson completed the hat trick at 4:02 and Stefan Karsay added two more [3:12 and 2:46] for an 8-2 victory. Jiri Frkal stopped 25 of 27 Freeport shots as DL outshot the Yellow Jackets 28-17 on the evening.

GREENSBURG ~ Special Report provide by the Indiana Hockey Club [Q] The Indiana High School Varsity Ice Hockey woke up late in the game to pull off a 6-1 win against Greensburg Central Catholic Thursday night at the Nevin Ice Arena in Greensburg. Mike Nesper scored the first two goals, late in the 2nd and early in the 3rd to start off the scoring effort. Zach Diamond added two more, while Jason Boske and Nick Onuscheck placed one apiece. Nesper and Boske also led assists with three apiece, with Diamond, Mike Hart, and Brad McCoy adding one each. Michael Mentch had 17 saves for the night, while the Indians outshot Greensburg 28-18. Indiana now 6-2 comes home next week facing Trinity on Wednesday, and Chartiers Valley on Friday.

KITTANNING ~ Special Report to Pa Hockey provided by Butler Hockey Club The fans went wild as number 53, Greg Rogerson, with 2:50 left on the overtime clock found the puck at center ice, got a break away and scored, unassisted, to bring Butler its 8th win of the season. Butler started the night off with 2 quick goals in the 1st period. The first came at 13:32 when B.J. Tipton put in goal #1, with an assist from Andy Turner. Only 16 seconds later (13:16), Spencer Crouse hit the net, assisted by B.J. Tipton and Andy Turner. Seneca Valley answered back at 9:13 with its 1st goal by Peet (correct spelling) Poillon, assisted by Matt Cummings and Justin Ball. The 2nd period brought its Seneca's tying goal when at 2:31 Kevin Raynovich found the net, with assists by Rick Seibel and Justin Ball. Each team hit the locker rooms with a tie score of 2-2 Coming out in the 3rd period, Butler's Tyler Druschel was the first to score with Jared White assisting at 12:40. Only 3 1/2 minutes later (9:19) and Seneca tied the game 3-3 when Danny Nelson scored with assists from Peet Poillon and Kevin Raynovich. With the game ending in a 3-3 tie, no break was taken and the 5:00 overtime clock began ticking. Both teams had several opportunities, but goalies Bucky Holt (B) and Jeff Reed (SV) protected their nets amazingly. As luck had it, the puck slipped loose at center ice and the Butler fans held their breath as Greg Rogerson broke away from SV's 2 defenseman and planted a beautiful goal after deeking (spelling?) Seneca's goalie. Seneca Valley's goalie Jeff Reed took 38 shots on goal, saving 34. Butler's goalie Bucky Holt faced 24, stopping 21. Butler is now rated by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette as one of the top 5 teams in their division. They will meet another top 5 rated team on Monday, December 22, 2003 as they play Mt. Lebanon in Mt. Lebanon. Starting time is 7:35 p.m.

NEW KENSINGTON ~ Freeport coach Dave Hepler is in his first year and takes over a team two years removed from a Penguin Cup semi-final appearance. Nick DeCroo was a big part of it as the junior forward scored over 50 goals to lead his team to the promised land, but Nick didn’t play for Freeport last season and only plays on Monday’s this season according to sources close to the team [I’ll give you all 3 guesses as to why ?]. So when leading scorer Dustin Gaworski went down with an injury and the coaches son Zach Hepler went down to an injury, that leaves the Yellow Jackets with just nine healthy skaters. So in a growing trend in Interscholastic Hockey, Freeport is nearing the danger area of not being able to field a team and another sad state of affairs for Western Pa Hockey, which has lost 15 Varsity teams since the PIHL was formed in 1999-2000. Deer Lakes Al Palowski has his own problems with lack of numbers, but has gone the route of bringing in foreign exchange students to fill the void. The Lancers added a new player to their roster in the form of Mike Watson, who has made his mark as an excellent amateur player and is a welcome addition to DL. Deer Lakes had its low point of the season losing to South Division doormat Linsly , but has rebounded with a couple of big wins including a 4-3 upset of Elizabeth Forward and is looking to move into playoff position. Freeport held its own in the first period and forged a 0-0 tie mostly on a great effort by defensive duo of Tommy Ferrante and Scott Gallagher, who only left the ice to get a drink of water. Deer Lakes coach Pawloski had to be concerned, but the newcomer got things started as Mike Watson scored at 13:47 to give the Lancers a 1-0 lead. Matt Romutus continued his hot hand at 10:01 extending the DL lead to 2-0. Watson scored his 2nd goal at 7:54 to expand the lead to 3-0. Josh Schreckengost got Freeport on the board at 6:56, but that was as close as it would get as Rich Bigley scored twice at 6:39 and 2:53 to turn this one into a rout 5-1. On to the third period and Troy Barker pulled Freeport back to 5-2 at 8:43. Deer Lakes countered with three goals of their own as Watson completed the hat trick at 4:02 and Stefan Karsay added two more [3:12 and 2:46] for an 8-2 victory. Jiri Frkal stopped 25 of 27 Freeport shots as DL outshot the Yellow Jackets 28-17 on the evening.