Announcement
Mars 3 Bishop McCort 2
PITTSBURGH –
A lot has been written and a lot said about Mars throughout the season, but the simple fact is that this team has been the number one team in Class A for most of the season and since their Penguins Cup loss a year ago looking to atone for what happened at Mellon Arena losing to Quaker Valley and this game would be an opportunity for the Planets to claim their first ever Penguins Cup and move on to Saturday’s State Championship game against 2009 Flyers Cup champions Bayard Rustin. In their path would be a Bishop McCort team and program with a long tradition of Penguins Cup excellence including five Pennsylvania State Class A Championships. Mars would strike first in this game in the 1st period on the power play as Michael Mazzota unleashed a long slap shot from the center point that beat McCort goaltender Jimmy Stenger on a the stick side at 10:33. McCort woul tie the contest at 8:18 of the 2nd period on a bang bang play as Matt Hotlz drilled home a Dane Domonkos rebound to tie the score at one apiece. Brady Sipe would give the Planets the lead with 9:11 to go in regulation as he fired a wrist shot upstairs past Stenger to make it 2-1 in favor of Mars. A little insurance came Mars way on terrific passing play as Andrew Santa finished off a passing play between Derek Sitterly and Matt Wingert with 4:24 to go to make it 3-1 Planets. Dane Domonkos pulled the Crimson Crushers back to within one with 2:56 to play on a power play goal on a rebound of a Kurtis Straw shot from the left point and McCort still had a chance. Mars goaltender Taylor Stepke stopped 28 of 29 shots in the game and several over the last few minutes to give the Mars Planets their first ever Penguins Cup championship.
