St Joseph's Prep Hawks

By MIKE MASTOVICH The Tribune-Democrat Bishop McCort High School hockey coach John Bradley earned his 200th win on Wednesday against city rival Westmont Hilltop. But the 10th-year Crushers coach preferred to highlight a number that didn’t change during McCort’s 3-0 victory at Cambria County War Memorial Arena. Thirty-one. That’s how many times the Crushers have lost during the past decade. “Somebody told me we only have 31 losses during those 10 years,” said Bradley, whose record is 200-31-6, including a 15-2 mark this season. “I’m more proud of the fact that we only lost 31 times. “We have a good program. We have some good kids who’ve put a lot of work into this program. We owe a lot to the dedication of the parents and the kids. We’ve been fortunate the last 10 years to have good players and good coaches.” A former Johnstown Chiefs goaltender, Bradley took the reins of the Crushers program in 1996-97 after serving as an assistant to coach Galen Head. Head had 144 wins and three straight state championships when he stepped down. Bradley’s Crushers made it a four-peat with the 1997 Pennsylvania Cup and won gold again in 1999. Last season McCort was 22-4 and finished as the state runner-up. “His teams play hard, they have a lot of depth, they compete and they play their positions well,” said veteran Westmont coach Art McQuillan, whose team is 8-11-1. “They’re a quality program. Both programs respect each other.” Neither team scored in the first period, though McCort outshot Hilltop 14-1. The Crushers led 1-0 on Shawn James’ rebound goal 35 seconds into the second. Steve Polonkey made it a two-goal advantage by converting a power play from the left point with 2:08 showing. McCort outshot Westmont 25-2 in the second. Only several acrobatic saves by Hilltop goalie Ian O’Brien kept the game close. “Ian played outstanding,” McQuillan said. “He’s a freshman in goal. They had 11 seniors on the ice. We had one senior. We have a pretty young team, but we worked hard.” The Crushers’ Paul Reilly scored with 2:20 left in the game. “The second and third ones probably weren’t our best scoring chances and we were fortunate to put them into the net,” Bradley said. “He (O’Brien) made three or four spectacular saves. He’s a good goalie and he’s going to be a very good goalie.” McCort outshot Hilltop 50-4. “Our first priority always is coming in and taking care of our own zone,” Bradley said. Bradley credited Head with giving him the opportunity to coach. “Galen had a great program,” Bradley said. “He’s one of my heroes. He’s a great guy. He was a great player and a great coach. He taught me a lot. I’m just trying to carry on the tradition that he brought into this program.” Brent Troyan and Alan Cassler combined for the Bishop McCort shutout.