Archbishop Ryan Raiders

Kittanning takes that next step in Double Overtime thriller! ROSTRAVER ~ The Dean of Western Pa Class AA coaching, Thomas Jefferson head coach Don Powell calls his team the ‘Young Piranhas’ because of their tenacity and intense work ethic. The Jaguars advanced to the Penguins Cup Semi-Finals against Kittanning with a big win over Canon McMillan last week and did so with a strong third period where the Jags shut down the Big Macs with great defensive play. TJ was looking to return to the Penguins Cup for the first time since 2000, when they completed the hat trick and won their third straight Pennsylvania Class AA State Championship. The coaching contingent for the Jaguars was on hand in Kittanning last Thursday night to get a look at the Wildcats for the first ever playoff meeting between the schools. Kittanning coach Jeff Smouse, on the other hand, must be living a dream after the exciting 3-2 win over Indiana before a packed house at the Belmont last week. The Wildcats motto all season has been ‘Unfinished Business’ and after losing to Indiana last year at Rostraver, Kittanning vowed to return to the big dance and this time they brought half of Armstrong County with them to take on a big throng of TJ supporters. The ‘Cats’ were looking to return to the Penguins Cup for the first time since 1991, when they carried the banner of Armstrong Central and defeated Meadville 7-4 at the Civic Arena before bowing to Council Rock in the State Finals, so for many a long-time Armstrong County hockey supporters, this is their version of ‘Unfinished Business’. For the first two periods of the Penguins Cup Class AA Semi Final, it was a defensive struggle as the teams matched blow for blow like a heavyweight boxing match or maybe a chess match was more indicative of what went on. As the Dean of AA Coaching Powell and the brain trust of Kittanning Jeff Smouse and ‘the Professor’ Al Stipp charted and plotted and matched lines and matched shits as well. The duel-taking place on the ice was just fantastic as Adam Toy and Danny Hartman, showed all of Western Pennsylvania why they were selected as Pa Hockey Top 25 selections and why Kittanning and Thomas Jefferson have been very successful this season, with great defense and excellent balance across three lines. Like a Broadway musical moving toward a climax the teams forged on after two periods in a 0-0 tie with Thomas Jefferson holding a slight advantage in shots 15-13. The third period was much like the first two as Toy and Hartman’s goaltending turned brilliant. In the middle of the third, Kittanning’s Dustin Kellner was slammed to the boards on a big collision behind the net and TJ broke out with a two on one as Brandon School moved up ice with great opportunity for the Jaguars and Kittanning got a huge break when the linesman using his discretion, blew the play dead since Kellner appeared hurt on the play. With 7:18 to play, the Jaguars were whistled for a penalty putting the Wildcats on the power play and a golden opportunity to score the games first goal…. and as fate would have it they did and it was Dustin Kellner walking out of the corner and beat Danny Hartman for a 1-0 Kittanning lead with 6:13 left. The Wildcats adjusted their fore check going to a 1-4 and frustrated the Jaguars, but TJ fought through the dreaded trap and forced a face-off in Kittanning’s end with a little over 4 minutes left. C.J. Parkinson showed great composure as he found Luke Wawrzeniak alone in front and Luke banged home a shot past Adam Toy to tie the game with 3:24 remaining. The game went into overtime and thanks to Adam Toy and Danny Hartman’s continued stellar goaltending neither team could score and there were many opportunities at both ends. The chess match continued as both teams fought to not make mistakes, while looking for that one opportunity to end it and Jessie Shriver just would not be denied as he outworked two Jaguars in the corner and threw the puck in front with under a minute left in Overtime # 2 and a big scramble ensued as it was Dustin Kellner, who found the loose puck and in one motion wristed one past Hartman sending the Kittanning Wildcats dancing onto the Penguins Cup with just 49.7 seconds remaining in the second extra session, ending what will go down as one of the Classic AA Playoff games in history. The Peters Machine shows why they may be the best team in the State at any level ! In 1996, Greensburg CC won their third State Championship under Butch Marrietta and for those who don’t remember the journey, the Centarians completed a magical run which included a win over an Indiana team, thought to be at the time one of the most dominating Class AA teams in State History. Indiana was coming off a 6-0 whitewashing in the Penguins Cup of Beaver, while GCC outlasted Erie Cathedral Prep in one of the best double overtime playoff games in State History. GCC went on to win the Class AA Penguins Cup and Class AA State Championship with an improbable comeback down 3-0 and beat Indiana 4-3 at Iceoplex. So when Greensburg CC handed Peters Twp a 4-3 loss earlier this season, I am sure coach Joe Dytka felt that the Centarians could slay the dragon AKA Peter Twp. Peters Twp head coach Mark Cooper is going to need some therapy sooner or later, because this group of Peters Twp Indians is gonna drive him nuts with all of their flight plans and the multiple personalities on the defending State Champions. There is no question that the Indians are the best team in Class AA and they have proven it, but winning a State Championship is a different story as one bad outing sends you home and no one knows that better than coach ‘Coop’. If he doesn’t believe me, just read the aforementioned story about Indiana again. Peter Twp had all of the suspects, prospects and players in uniform as they took the ice against Greensburg CC, maybe with a little payback in mind for their early season loss to the Centarians. The defending champs came out on all cylinders in the first period as Corey Bovalina banged home a rebound past Jake Genes at 13:08 to give the Indians a 1-0 lead. Mike Papciak extended the lead to 2-0 at 8:43 and Mike Sherer added another at 6:47 to give PT a commanding 3-0 lead at the end of one. On to the second, and after a goals was waived off for Peters Twp Christian Minella slammed home a shot from in close to make it 4-0 at 11:10 and Brandon Rubeo turned it into a rout with just 6:35 left in the second at 5-0 PT. Kyle Kittleberger stopped a couple of GCC chances and Peters Twp was well on its way to the Penguins Cup at the end of the second. Peters continued its onslaught in the third as Matt Clackson scored on the rebound at 11:29 and a backhand at 6:30, while brother Chris Clackson closed out the scoring late in the third period and Peters Twp sent the patrons home early with a convincing 8-0 shellacking of Greensburg CC. The win sets up a match up with Kittanning, which will be a rematch of sorts of an upset by Peters over Kittanning in 1998 in the Penguins Cup Semi-Finals, but this time Peters will be the favorite and Kittanning will be the underdog……..the Kittanning coaching brain trust may want to give coach Marrietta a call for some advice how to slay the dragon because judging by the performance by Peters Twp versus GCC, the well oiled machine is out to prove they are the best team in the state at any level.

ROSTRAVER ~ Mighty Hilltoppers pull off a big upset and defeat Mars 3-2 ! Mars has had a wonderful season in 2002-2003, out scoring their opponents in almost ridiculous fashion and has done so with great touch around the net and great puck movement. Head Coach Bob Finney’s team dare to go where no Planets team before them, as Mars picked up its first ever state playoff victory over Deer Lakes 10-5 to advance to the Penguins Cup Semi-Finals at Rostraver. The opponent would be division rival Westmont, who the Planets defeated twice this season 6-1 and 6-4 and beating them a third time would be a real feat for Mars. Westmont Hilltop has been here before and head coach Art McQuillan has watched many a Hilltopper season end at Rostraver over the past as 6 out of the past eight years have ended in Penguin Cup Semi – Final disappointment, not including 2002 when they lost to Serra Catholic at the Gardens. So the usual suspects with a couple of their friends as Bob the Bus Driver in his own superstitious way, like many of the Hilltopper faithful took their posts at the Rostraver Ice Garden, hoping for a little Irish luck for McQuillan lad and his band of merry men on St Patrick’s Day. Maybe Mars was supposed to be a little nervous in their first trip to the Semi-Finals, nut the Planets came out storming in the first period and took it to Westmont outshooting them 20-5, but Hilltopper goaltender Pat Krumenacher was outstanding helping his team kill off two of three penalties. The one he didn’t resulted in the games first score as Bobby Beckert stationed himself in front and took a nice feed from Bobby Finney and slammed it home for a 1-0 Mars lead. Westmont weathered the storm and held Mars off the board early in the second as the Planets continued their attack with 14 more shots in the middle frame. As legend woud have it, the mighty Hilltopper would get their chance as Mars was maybe too aggressive as Justin McClosky streaked down the left wing and blasted a big slapshot inside the far post to tie the game with 10:02 left in the 2nd. McCloskey showed why he had 37 goals on the regular season as he came right back a few shifts later and beat Bryan Ross on a long slapshot, which appeared to have deflected off a Mars defenseman and over the glove of the freshman goaltender at 6:36 to give Westmont a 2-1 lead, despite being outgunned 34-10 through two periods. Mars continued their attack on Westmont resulting in a Planet power play in the middle of the final period of regulation. Jim Roach found a wide open Bobby Beckert in tight at 8:04 and the big Mars Forward made no mistake beating Krumenacher through the 5 hole and tying the game at 2-2. Art McQuillan had to wonder as his team was whistled with a little over five minutes to play putting Mars on the power play, with a chance to regain the lead. But this wasn’t just any ole Hilltopper team, as David ‘don’t call me Corey’ Mock made a great play to penetrate the Planets defense and dropped a terrific pass to McCloskey, who buried a wrist shot past Ross and sent the Westmont faithful into an uproar on the near sidelines with a 3-2 lead. The mighty Hilltoppers could smell victory and Mars displayed their frustration by taking a few ill-advised penalties late and Westmont held on to go on to the Penguins Cup for the first time since 1998. ROSTRAVER ~ Serra continues mastery over Bishop McCort 4-1 ! Bishop McCort has been to the Penguins Cup finals 10 out of the last twelve seasons with five Class A State Championships and many great seasons, but coach John Bradley’s club has run into a real roadblock over the past three seasons in the form of the Serra Catholic Eagles, who have won three consecutive State Championships at the expense of the Crimson Crushers. The road to the Class A State Championship, which used to go through Johnstown has been detoured through onto Route 30 and through East McKeesport and Serra Catholic High School. Those pesky Eagles have been awesome this season, but head coach John Mooney knows every time his team suits up against McCort, that Serra will have a tussle, especially at playoff time. Serra defeated Freeport and has been scorching Class A for the entire second half of the season with the usual suspects Leppo, King and Lubasch, but also with a new breed of Eagles in Joey Manning, Ryan Noone and Ray Gillis, who have matured into a strong double threat for the Egales. CJ King opened the scoring at 10:40 beating the McCort defense and goaltender Ron Stenger on the wrist shot stick side to give Serra a 1-0 lead. The Crimson Crushers pressured Serra for the equalizer in the first period, including a 5 on 3 power play with two minutes left in the first, but met the same old frustration as Timmy Johnson stoned them included 10 shots on the two man advantage and the Eagles took a 1-0 lead to the break. On to the second and King rung McCort up again on the power play at 10:08 getting his own rebound and beating Stenger to give Serra a 2-0 lead. Joe Delic came back and got McCort on the board on a rebound goal with 7:27 left in the 2nd period. The Crimson Crushers were pressing for the equalizer but Serra caught them napping as King found Joey Manning behind the McCort defense and threaded a perfect pass to the speedy forward, who scored to give the Eagles a huge insurance goal with 3:43 left in the 2nd and a 3-1 lead. Bishop McCort would have an opportunity to get back in the game on a 4 minute power play at 12:51, but they could not beat Johnston, who stopped 33 of 34 shots and has made a career out of beating the Crimson Crushers. C.J. King closed it out with the hat trick with just 8 minutes remaining and Serra would move on to the Penguins Cup for the 4th straight year with an impressive 4-1 win over McCort.

KITTANNING ~ As the big Blue Jeep pulled up to the Belmont Ice Complex a little over a half an hour before last nights Indiana – Kittanning playoff game….the reaction was …..to put it lightly…..look at this ! While the Belmont holds nearly 1200, there were infinitely more than that in the building as a crowd of an estimated 1400-1500 showed up for the ‘Route 422’ rivalry between the Wildcats and the Indians. To find a parking space was a rarity as my partner in crime Ron Steedle and I pulled into a nice muddy creek bed to get the Jeep nice and dirty, so when Western Pennsylvania wins its 8th consecutive Pennsylvania Class AA State Championship, I can watch Breakaway’s Jeff Nolan wash it wearing the jersey of the Western Pa team……….and if its Kittanning that happens to do it we’ll all convene back in the parking lot of the Belmont. Stay tuned for details on that wager! And it was Miss Jane’s ‘Romper Room’ night as the who’s who were out in full force as the Thomas Jefferson coaching staff of Don Powell, John Fedorek, Tom Pandolfo and Mark Heinauer, joined GCC’s Joe Dytka and film crew to scout the game with Ole’s regulars Max & Tim [14:60 Forever!], Jimmo Greenbaum, Larry Montebell, Ed ‘Jake’ Jacobs, long time Kittanning/Armstrong Central coach Joe Ritchey, coach former Armstrong Central stud Jon Yackmack [who led the last trip to the State Finals out of the Belmont] and recent Indiana stud Casey Haines [who is now entertaining Junior A offers amazingly as just a sophomore in high school….I guess he won’t need to play for our recently aforementioned midget AAA team, who denies kids an opportunity for State Playoff glory in exchange for practice]. I am sure Indiana coach Dom Glavech would have loved to have put Casey Haines in the lineup last night to help his struggling offense find the net, but Casey donned a red Indiana jersey to participate with the 2003 version of the ‘Hockey Hooligans’, who were dwarfed by the town of Kittanning, who showed up to root for the home team. As the national anthem was sung, it was great to hear people actually singing along with the young lady from Kittanning H.S., which is something missing from the ‘Suburbanite’ society we live in today and gave me goosebumps. This is probably why some of us really enjoy attending hockey games at places like the Belmont or Meadville or Johnstown or Indiana or Erie, where the community really support the hockey programs and turn out in droves to watch them play [Personally, Mr Steedle and I get to double my pleasure coaching the kids in the Keystone State (MIDGETS) games, now in the 7th year]. Indiana reached the Penguin Cup Finals last season for the second time in their history and did so by defeating Kittanning 6-0 at Rostraver. The Indians then missed a golden opportunity to advance to the State Finals falling short in its comeback 3-2 to eventual champion Peters Twp. Kittanning, on the other hand, vowed after the Indiana loss to return to the big dance and coach Jeff Smouse really wanted to play Indiana along the way to prove that his team is ready to take that next step toward West Chester. To do it, the Wildcats will need great goaltending from Adam Toy to steal a couple along the way, in the tradition of great Armstrong/Kittanning goaltenders like Eric ‘Zip’ Zimmerman or Brett Frederick or more recently Aaron Stanley, who have excelled in playoff competition. As the opening faceoff approached, you couldn’t help notice the loose attitude of Indiana and the nervous look on the faces of the California bleached Kittanning Wildcats. In fact, rumors has it if Kittanning advances to Neville Island for the Penguins Cup….that Max and Tim will get a bleach-job [I’d love to see that one]. Indiana wasted no time from the opening faceoff as Dane Bertinazzi who shot one down low, which Toy had to be sharp on as he just got his skate on and deflected into the corner at 14:14. The Indians came right back and struck first as Bryan Schlemmer bang home a rebound at 11:33 for a 1-0 lead. Indiana was all over Kittanning, outshooting them 16-5 in the opening period as Toy came up big on Zach Diamond at 11:14. Luke Heller almost tied the game at 10:10, but Mike Mentsch turn it aside. The Indians had a golden opportunity to take a two goal advantage on a power play with 3:24 remaining, but got whistled for a lazy tripping call in the offensive zone just 21 seconds into the man advantage, which was a huge mental mistake and testimony of the emotions of the opening period. So Kittanning dodged a big bullet and took advantage right off the bat in the second period as Eddie Germy made a heads up play finding Luke Heller, who snapped a shot inside the post to tie the game at 14:30 at one apiece. At this point, Indiana went back to work and continued pressuring the Wildcats but Adam Toy continued to sparkle as he stopped Jayson Vaughn at 10:36 and made a sliding save on Bertinazzi at 6:06. A simple series of two little plays may have changed the complexion of this hockey game as twice Kittanning defenseman Patrick Schneider was able to clear the zone after considerable Indiana pressure and gain some territorial ice for Kittanning towards the end of the 2nd period. The results of that play and a little laziness by the Indiana backline would be a huge break for the Wildcats, as super sophomore Eddie Germy kick the puck out in front to linemate Joel Shriver, who banged it home and gave Kittanning its first lead 2-1 with 2:30 left. Indiana almost tied in on the ensuing faceoff as Aaron Smith had a partial break but shot high over Toy. The Wildcats went on the power play and won the faceoff back to Michael Mecurio, who blasted one down low past Mentsch for a 3-1 lead, a power play goal and sent the Kittanning faithful into a frenzy with just 1:17 remaining and one period away from Rostraver. On to the third period and while Indiana was looking for a spark, Kittanning was looking for the knockout punch. Indiana went on the power play with 9:29 remaining and the best chance to score was Kittanning’s Luke Heller on the breakaway, but Mentsch dove out and poke checked the puck away at 9:01. The next rush up the ice resulted in another penalty and a 5 on 3 for Indiana, but Adam Toy was brilliant stopping several Indiana chances, the best on Zach Diamond on a sliding save across the crease at 7:38. Kittanning was able to kill the penalties, but Corey Mills banged home a rebound at 6:05 off a big scramble in front and the Indians were back in it 3-2. Indiana just dominated the final minutes with a 16-3 shot advantage in the 3rd and 40-14 on the night, but Adam Toy kept them out the rest of the way and paved the road to Rostraver with a 3-2 victory and a date with Thomas Jefferson next Tuesday night.

TJ takes nothing to chance and turns back Canon Mac ! ROSTRAVER – Canon McMillan hockey has had a breakthrough season in 2002-2003, with its first division title edging out West Allegheny, its first playoff victory over Canevin 4-2 last week and its first winning season since 1997. Anything more for Pat Rheam’s club would be icing on the cake, but believe me this is a dangerous team in the playoffs because they have nothing to lose and the effect of the amateur programs at Southpointe has produced some pretty nice talent in the program for the Big Macs and this could be a watershed season for the Big Macs. In a meeting earlier this season CM just fell short losing to TJ 4-3. Thomas Jefferson coach Don Powell has been here before and the dean of Class AA coaches is wary of any team in the playoffs since last years upset at the hands of Hampton. The Jaguars captured the 2nd seed with late season wins at Indiana, South Park and Canevin, but they all seemed to be spoiled by the pastings this season at the hands of division rival and defending champs Peters Twp., who have defeated TJ three times this season. Although Thomas Jefferson has twelve consecutive winnings seasons [176-41-9], three Pennsylvania State Championships, and twelve straight state playoff appearances, coach Powell will not be satisfied until his Jags beat Peters, but to get another shot at them they have to get there. A very calm and cautious first period, Thomas Jefferson grabbed the lead as Eric Holzer scored on the rebound past Chris Watkinson for a 1-0 lead. Canon Mac had an opportunity to tie the game late in the period on the power play but was denied by some excellent penalty killing by the Jaguars. On to the second and TJ extended its lead to 2-0 as defenseman Grant Heinauer blasted home a loose puck from the slot area over the glove hand of Watkinson at 13:39 and the Jaguars had a 2-0 lead. Meanwhile at the other end, Danny Hartman was doing his thing as he stopped Doug Rheam from point blank range with 9:19 remaining in the 2nd. Thomas Jefferson’s Brandon School scored on a breakaway putting TJ in the driver’s seat 3-0 at 7:49. The Jaguars had a golden chance to go up 4-0 but Chris Watkinson made a great save on Luke Wawrzeniak at 7:29 to keep the deficit to three goals. Back came the Big Macs as Doug Rheam tipped a shot from the point past Hartman to get CM on the board with a PPG with 3:27 remaining. Canon Mac was back in the game and Doug Stanton drew them even closer as he buried a wrist shot over the glove side of Hartman and all the sudden it was a one goal hockey game with 2:44 remaining. Anytime you have one goal playoff game, its important to play tight in the final minute, but TJ’s Derek Kelly delivered a big blow to Canon Macs upset bid with a big slapshot which beat Watkinson cleanly with only :29 left in the middle period and a huge insurance goal for the Jaguars. Spurred by Kelly’s goal Thomas Jefferson came out in the third period and played like champions shutting down the Big Macs and Danny Hartman stopped every thing he had to. Billy Barrett sealed the deal with a goal at 12:28 of the third and Thomas Jefferson moved on to Penguin Cup Semi-Finals for the first time since 2000 next week at Rostraver to face either Kittanning or Greensburg CC.

DELMONT – Bethel Park has won three consecutive Pennsylvania Class AAA State Championships and while many Junior Varsities and Freshman team are suiting up for playoffs for the first time and will hang banners about their JV and Freshman Championships, they need to take a seminar about what Junior Varsity and Freshman hockey SHOULD be about which is a training ground for the Varsity Program. Invited speakers to this seminar should be Paul Taibi, the Mt Lebanon head coach, who spent several years quietly grooming players who were the building blocks leading the Hawks to those three straight championships. Coach Taibi is building a class program at Mt Lebanon, a team that lost something like 14 seniors from a Penguin Cup finalist from a year ago and has only three seniors on a team, which has matured beyond its years in just a few months and will be knocking on that door for the next few years with great young talent. In fact, I had to go back on the ole’ Pa Hockey Master Schedule just to figure out that the Blue Devils last lost in February on the 10th to Franklin Regional 7-4 and has not lost since in an undefeated stretch that included Bethel Park, Cathedral Prep, and Baldwin. Now Taibi doesn’t know who Gary Swingle is, but he would see a lot of similarities in the former Franklin coach who was a similar architect, who entered the Franklin Program in the early 90’s and helped build a Junior Varsity and Freshman programs. Those programs produced WPIHL AA Championships and a four-year run to the Penguin Cup finals from 1992-1996 and continued the building process until the Panthers moved to the Center Ice Arena in 1998. In the 1997-1998, FR fielded two freshman teams with 37 players and rather than stacking one freshman team, ‘the General’ as he was known put the odds on one side and the evens on the other side and those two teams lost a combined two games out of 30. The best of that group have developed since into the 2003 edition of the Franklin Regional Panthers. Most recently, coach Jim Damp has taken this talented group and they have molded into a real contender for Class AAA and have opened some eyes around the Western Pa hockey circles, with big late season wins over Lebanon and Bethel Park. Some of the Panthers were looking to erase memories of last seasons ending a double overtime defeat at the hands of North Allegheny. Goaltending dominated the first period as Pa Hockey Top 5 Freshman phenom Matt Vaughn stopped Luke ‘now you see him now you don’t’ DeLorenzo, who danced around the Mt Lebo defense at 13:15. The Blue Devils went on the power play at 11:57 and pressure Franklin to try to get that all-important first goal, but Brandon Stallard made several key stops including an excellent save on Chad Uddstrom at 10:52. Stallard then stopped Eric Sloan and Uddstrom again at 7:21 as Mt Lebo could not capitalize o some excellent scoring chances. Late in the opening period, Sloan was in on the breakaway but could not beat Stallard and the game was scoreless after one period. Mt Lebanon opened the second period much like the first but could not beat Stallard, who stoned Billy Leckenby at 13:30. Franklin Regional counter attacked and Luke ‘now you see him now you don’t’ DeLorenzo but Matt Vaughn on Route 22 going West on a spectacular move and beat the freshman goaltender on the forehand to make it 1-0 at 13:19. The Panthers came right back on the same shift as Vaughn made the initial save on DeLorenzo and Lou Levine pounced on the rebound and banged it home to give the packed house at Delmont on the Franklin side something to cheer about and a 2-0 lead at 12:50. Still on that extended shift, Delorenzo made a great drop pass to Mike Roth, who buried a wrist shot upstairs on the glove side at 12:12 and all the sudden Franklin led 3-0. Now many of you may not remember the Penguin Cup Semi-Final at Rostraver in 1997, where Mt Lebanon had a 4-0 lead at the end of two periods only to watch it evaporate into a 5-4 Bethel win and an eventual State Championship for the Hawks. A game for the ages that night and one of the first thoughts that came to my mind in this game and maybe its was the calmness as Luke ‘now you see him now you don’t’ DeLorenzo, exited the building off to that all-important Hornets practice with 9:15 left in the second period of a do or die playoff game. You could almost see Paul Taibi, grinding his teeth and although he would never say maybe thinking it that Mt Lebanon would love to come back and win this one and make a real statement. Well, Taibi’s heart warmed a little bit as Eric Sloan scored on a wrist shot upstairs at 8:39 to get Mt Lebanon on the board 3-1. Mike Roth came right back for the Panthers just thirty seconds later to extend the lead to 4-1 beating Vaughn on the wrist shot. Stallard made a great blocker save on Leckenby at 3:29 and on Sloan with just :18 seconds left, stacking his pads and FR took a 4-1 lead to the intermission. On to the third period and Franklin went into that dreaded prevent defense a little too early as they failed to gain territorial advantage. The Blue Devils gain some momentum and Tony Valerino banged home a Bill Leckenby rebound on the backhand at 10:44 and Lebo was back within striking distance at 4-2. Less than a minute later, Leckenby scored on a long blast after a Franklin turnover at blueline which beat Stallard on the stick side and all the sudden it was 4-3 and all Mt Lebanon. The Blue Devils were all over FR at this point and Eric Sloan just missed at 4:40, but Dan Weilin tied the game with exactly four minutes remaining on a great move beating Stallard on the backhand and roofing it upstairs. The game headed to overtime as Mt Lebanon outshot Franklin Regional 32-23 through regulation. Franklin was awarded a rare power play in overtime [Oh by the way …the officiating in this one was outstanding with Chet Steen and Norm Faas] but Mt Lebanon survived two FR chances as Michael Jordan blocked a Jimmie Daugherty shot at 7:45 and Matt Vaughn stopped Joey Ferrairo from point blank at 7:01. Mt Lebanon went on the PP at 6:07 and almost won it but Eric Sloan’s blast hit the crossbar at 4:10. Then Vaughn stoned Franklin Regional as he stopped Joey Ferrairo again with 2:40 left in the first OT and robbed Jimmie Daugherty with just 5 seconds left in OT # 1. On to Overtime # 2 and after confusion with the league rep who didn’t know the playoff rules and probably was never provided a copy of them, the game moved on as the teams switched ends. Franklin came out early and made it happen as Mike Roth gathered a rebound after Vaughn made the initial save on Daugherty and lofted into the empty net over a fallen Vaughn and Franklin Regional would advance on to face Bethel Park, which will be a rematch of a late season game at Center Ice and will have a lot more riding on it come next Wednesday as we move on to Rostraver and the Penguin Cup semis. For Mt Lebanon, a great year and a stepping stone for the future as hopefully this group of Blue Devils will remember this game and let it help fuel a Penguin Cup run over the next few years !