Archbishop Ryan Raiders

NEVILLE ISLAND Island Sports Class AAA Franklin Regional has had a magical run since winning the Class AAA East Division title by defeating Latrobe 5-3, Mt Lebanon 5-4 in a double overtime thriller and three- time Pennsylvania Cup Class AAA Champion Bethel Park in the Penguins Cup Semi-Finals. Now I am sure Panther head coach Jim Damp may not know about the cloud over Franklin Regional, which existed after four straight Penguins Cup appearances in Class AA from 1993 through 1996, which resulted in four straight losses, but I am sure Meadville coach Jamie Plunkett probably remembers because that is exactly when the Bulldogs were in the midst of winning five straight Class AAA Pennsylvania Cups. So immediately prior to the Bulldogs winning those, Franklin was dropping four straight. So the novice hockey fans says that it means nothing because this is a whole new group of players and a different time period…..well for all of you maybe you need to pay a little better attention. Franklin Regional fans filled the Island Sports Center including a huge contingent of Panther students. Jamie Plunkett is the undisputed Dean of Western Pennsylvania coaches and in 18 years with the Bulldogs he has brought home seven Pennsylvania Cup Championships and eight Penguins Cup included in the 13 Penguins Cup Final appearances since 1987, when the magical run began for Pennsylvania’s most successful hockey program. There is a bad taste in Meadville’s mouth in the form of the last eight winters that the Bulldogs have not been standing in the final game of the season as winners including the past two where the Dawgs have bowed out early in the playoffs or 1999, when Meadville dropped a heartbreaker to Conwell Egan in triple overtime or maybe even Bethel Park or Central Catholic ousting the Bulldogs from the same Penguins Cup in 1998 or 1997. So why was Dr. Plunkett so joyful prior to the Penguins Cup final at Island Sports Center…..maybe he was just happy to be there or maybe was just happy that Bethel and Central where sitting out this one or maybe the thought of some fresh meat in the form of a very nervous and inexperienced Franklin squad was just what the doctor ordered to propel Meadville to its 9th State Championship game. For Bulldog forwards Jeff Holabaugh, Christian Nickerson, and Brian Bahurinsky this was a chance for redemption and each of these players knows exactly what needed to be done and were ready to carry their team onto the State Final. The line if Nickerson, Holabaugh and Bahurinsky continued their torrid playoff stretch, as the Dawgs forced turnovers and turned up the heat on the jittery Franklin defense. The result was Christian Nickerson getting behind the defense and slipping a forehand past Brandon Stallard to give the ‘Dawgs a 1-0 lead at 10:59. Holabaugh took a perfect pass from Bahurinsky and beat the Franklin defense and beat Stallard cleanly at 7:35 and all the sudden it was 2-0 Meadville. Late in the first period it was Dan Craven banging home a Phil Siverd rebound with just :55 left and the Bulldogs where on top 3-0 after one period. In the second period, Nickerson used his speed to beat Franklin’s defense and drew two defenders to him and found a wide open Bahurinsky in the slot and # 24 in white buried a shot low on the ice [imagine that!] on Stallard’s stick side and Meadville was on top 4-0 with exactly 12:00 remaining. Franklin finally got on the board as Michael Roth scored at 10:14 to make the game 4-1, but the Panthers could not penetrate the smothering defense of the Bulldogs to gain any more ground. Luke DeLorenzo and Jimmie Daugherty had the bet chances, but where stopped by Danny O’Sharuk. If there was one play which exemplified this Penguins Cup it was late in the second period, when Brian Bahurinsky beat a tired Sean Buckley to the puck and then beat Brandon Stallard at 1:48 to give Meadville a 5-1 lead going to the locker room. Franklin started the third period like it probably wished it had started the game as Daugherty beat O’Sharuk with a quick shot which trickled past the Bulldog goaltender to make it 5-2 at 14:39. This would be the Bulldogs day as Bahurinsky completed his hat trick with 6:48 remaining and Jeffrey Holabaugh would ring up two more goals at 4:49 and 1:33 for another hat trick as Mike Roth closed out the scoring with just 10 seconds left for an 8-3 final in favor of the Dawgs and Meadville would ring up Penguins Cup # 9 and move on to West Chester to face the Flyers Cup champions next Sunday.