St Joseph's Prep Hawks

Bishop McCort 2 Mars 0 CRANBERRY - Bishop McCort is off to an 8-1-0 mark after the first half of the season and for head coach John Bradley is in perfect position to defend their Penguins Cup title from a year ago. The Crimson Crushers appear to be part of a triumverate including undefeated Quaker Valley and Serra Catholic leading a sparse Class A group of contenders that will chase for the title in March and unseat Penncrest, who defeated McCort in the Pennsylvania High School Hockey Championship. Old hat for a program that’s leads all Class A programs in Pennsylvania with 5 State Championships since its inception in 1989. The problem for Western Pennsylvania is that Eastern Pa owns the past three titles. Mars coach Eric Glover coached in the inaugural Pennsylvania Class A State title game for the Plum Mustangs as an assistant coach to Jim Murray for a team which defeated Cardinal O’Hara 10-4 to capture Plum’s one and only State Championship. The Mars hockey program has been a direct benefactor of the growth in the Cranberry / Seven Fields area and given time will create the numbers needed to produce some hockey powerhouses, similar to neighbors North Allegheny and Pine Richland, who have enjoyed consistent success over the past few seasons along with stability in the coaching. The Crimson Crushers took the lead at 9:41 as Marc Domonkos took advantage of a shorthanded opportunity and gave his team a 1-0 lead. Brent Troyan had a strong first period keeping the Planets off the board. Bishop McCort and Mars engaged in end to end action with the Planets looking to score the equalizer. The Crushers would get a huge insurance goal with just 1:27 remaining in the 2nd period as Marc Domonkos found an empty net on the back door after collecting a Shawn James rebound and depositing it past Planets goaltender Whiteford for a 2-0 count at the end of two. The Crimson Crushers completed a strong defensive effort in the 3rd period clinching the shutout for Troyan for an impressive 2-0 victory over a feisty Mars squad. If the Planets find some scoring between now and March, they could be a factor in spoiling someone’s playoff run or possibly creating one for themselves. Expect Bishop McCort to be there looking to atone for their loss to Penncrest and maybe take it one step further for # 6.