Archbishop Carroll Patriots - 1981 AAA 2004 AA

2006 Penguins Cup AAA Final – Mt Lebanon 3 North Allegheny 1 PITTSBURGH – History is sometimes a cruel reminder of what has transpired over the past 30 + years of the Penguins Cup and for North Allegheny (21-3-0) and Mt Lebanon (24-0-0), it must feel a little awkward to not facing either Bethel Park or Meadville, who are now both out of the playoffs and for the first time since 1988 are not participants in the Penguins Cup final, when Baldwin defeated Shadyside Academy, which is many moons ago and prior to all of the players participating in today’s game being born. In fact, since the Blue Devils and Tigers were directly responsible for ousting each of those long time powerhouses during the Penguins Cup semi-finals last week, both North Allegheny and Mt Lebanon can now chase the void in each of their programs, a AAA State Championship against the 2006 Flyers Cup champions Cardinal O’Hara, a 6-3 winner over Germantown Academy in the 2006 Flyers Cup championship. To be a part of the process is what Paul Taibi’s Blue Devils and Mike Schenk’s Tigers have long awaited an opportunity for and for North Allegheny, a return to the stage where a year ago the Penguins Cup was well within graspe, but slipped out courtesy of a 1-0 Bethel Park victory in one of the better Penguins Cup AAA game in recent memory. For Mt Lebanon, it has been since 1976 when the Blue Devils defeated the aforementioned 2006 Flyers Cup champions Cardinal O’Hara and Haverford High [coincidentally the 2006 AA State Finalist and the 2006 Flyers Cup champs] on their way to their only State Championship exactly 30 years ago defeating Churchill 4-2 at this same Civic Arena. The coach of that 1976 team Mickey McDermott’s has followed the plight of this team and its 24 straight victories to this point and would probably advise current coach Paul Taibi that it will take two more victories that will probably be two of the toughest for the Blue Devils for Mt Lebanon to capture that elusive title. Many of the members of this team, who lost to Malvern Prep in 2004, probably remember the heartache of that game, which is shared by many of the North Allegheny Tigers from a year ago. North Allegheny would get an opportunity on the power play at the ten minute mark And they struck first as Joe Camut backhanded an Ian McGlumphy rebound past Matt Vaughn at 8:21 to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Lebo 66 then showed up in time for the Blue Devils as James Cichra took the puck from his own end and beat the NA defense with speed and slipped a wrist shot just inside the far post to tie the game at one apiece with 5:07 left in the opening period. On to the second period and North Allegheny and Mt Lebanon engaged in a defensive battle as the Blue Devils turned up the heat and Max Richards continued to find the puck. With 5:10 to go in the 2nd, Matt Lancaster got behind the Lebo defense, but Matt Vaughn came up big holding his ground. The Tigers went on the power play with 4:44 remaining and a golden opportunity to swing momentum and take the lead, but this game would remain tied and head to the ice cut. The third period started with a flurry of activity in the NA end and the Tigers continued t0 survive as the shots read 18-6 in favor of the Blue Devils. At 12:42 Shane Ferguson was hauled down and the ever dangerous Blue Devils would go on the power play and with 11:32 remaining the puck lay on the goal line and Paul Dittrich was able to save the day and no goal for the Blue Devils. Josh Mandic walked down the slot with 10:45 remaining and Max Richards made the save and NA killed it off. And then a ghost from Lebo’s past swooped down out of the heavens with 7:32 remaining and got enough stick on the puck to poke it past Max Richards as Sean McDermott scored a huge goal to put Mt Lebanon on top 2-1. With 6:50 to play, the Tigers got a fortunate call putting them on the power play to hopefully build on the meager 6 shots registered through 2 ½ periods. Matt Vaughn stopped Alan Halapin at 6:20 and made it look easy and then Wes Waldschmidt and Matt Lancaster on the rebound moments later. With 5:00 to go in regulation, the Blue Devils went on the power play with a chance to put this one out of reach and some great passing we have become accustomed to with the Blue Devils as Brandon Dornish took a beautiful feed from Shane Ferguson with 4:21 remaining to put Lebo 100 up 3-1 with not much time left for the Tigers. Alan Halapin, who has tasted Penguins Cup disappointment in three consecutive seasons [two with NA and one with Indiana] as he headed to the penalty box as Mt Lebanon was now in control of the 2006 Penguins Cup and on their way to face Cardinal O’Hara in the State Finals at RMU Island Sports Center on April 8th.

2006 Open Division Championship State College 5 Carrick 3 PITTSBURGH – The after thought …………..the Open Division………………and the end of the road. A game that was promised and then told it wasn’t going to happen to the Carrick and State College folks by the Villans. Through lots of phone calls by the members of both organizations, the Open Championship is now a reality. So how did these teams get here? State College left the CPIHL three years ago with promises of the Penguins Cup and after a year in Class A and a memorable year in Class AAA of a zillion miles in travel and two wins, the Little Lions opted for the Open Division. So 50 odd people from State College traveled here for an 8:00 game and another promise that they will get back to University Park before 1:00 AM. The Little Lions program is in a very tough situation on the far Eastern Part of Western Pa or conversely on the far Western Part of Eastern Pa. It is also the biggest school enrollment wise in Western Pa and obviously cannot compete at Class AAA. Putting State College in Class A with no opportunity for a Penguins Cup, the reason they joined the PIHL, is not a solution either. So by deduction, I concluded that State College should play Class AA. Before we finish our thought let’s bring the Carrick COUGARS into the discussion, who had a stint with NO Penguins Cup eligibility in Class A for several years and then took a beating in Class AA needed a place to play so they opted for the Open Division a year ago and had a nice season of rebuilding their program under Chris Chusiano and another one this season. So it came down to State College, Carrick and Kiski for the spot in the Class AAA playdown to play Baldwin and after all three teams went through an entire season with only one loss apiece, Kiski was awarded the Class AAA spot. And Carrick and State College worked their way through the Open Playoffs to meet at Mellon Arena. People………….the Open Division needs to go away and ALL teams need to have an opportunity to play for a Penguins Cup/State Championship and not for an Open Championship. In no other Scholastic sport that I know of does the final game of a season end without a State Championship, except Western Pennsylvania Hockey, the land of billing teams just to have a pseudo league to pay for their mis-administration and purging Varsity hockey. Its great that Carrick and State College get to play at Mellon Arena and thankfully some ‘Concerned Citizens’ of both clubs pleaded with the Penguins to allow them to play for something they earned during this season, but my question is what is the purpose of it? So Mr Freeze and the Joker and their mis-guided administration can give another ‘gut-wrenching’ Save the Penguins speech? Because after tonight, the season is over for the winner and the loser. Even Class A with only 12 schools in Western Pa is sending a representative to play on April 8th at RMU Island Sports Center. Don’t tell that to the throng of faithful Carrick fans who shelled out $ 7 to join the intimate gathering of State College faithful to watch this game. At 10:32 of the opening period, the Carrick faithful rose to their feet as one as Mitchell Faust scored on a Aaron Hahne rebound to give the COUGARS, not Rams a 1-0 lead. State College scored on the power play with 3:07 remaining as Taylor Haney roofed a wrist shot from in tight past the Carrick goaltender to tie the game at 1-1. Just 18 seconds later Brian James scored to give the Little Lions. Matt Abbott of Carrick scored on a great individual effort just 7 seconds later to tie the game at 2-2. At 10:40 of the 2nd period, Daniel Petrick stole the puck from the Carrick defenseman and fired a slapshot through the 5-hole to give the Little Lions a 3-2 lead. The Cougars got the spark they needed with 3:08 left in the second period as Aaron Hahne broke around the State College defense and scored on the the stick side to tie the score at 3-3. With 10:55 remaining in regulation, Kirk Collins buried a wrist shot high over the glove side of the Carrick goaltender to give the Little Lions a 4-3 lead. With 5:46 to play, the COUGARS went on the power play with a chance to tie the game but failed. Down under a minute to go and Carrick earned a power play with a chance to tie with 35 ticks left and pulled the goalie and with 10 seconds left Nick Petrick scored into an empty net to give State College a 5-3 victory and the Open Division Championship.

Flyers Cup AAA - Preliminary Holy Ghost Prep Firebirds 6 Roman Catholic Gladiators 3 HIGHLIGHTS: Holy Ghost outshot Roman 35-10 and was led by John Corcoran with a pair of goals and Nick Seravelli with 3 assists Father Judge Crusaders 5 Archbishop Wood Vikings 0 HIGHLIGHTS: Charles Donahue with a pair of goals and Bob Stewart picks up the shutout in goal Archbishop Carroll Patriots 5 Archbishop Ryan Raiders 0 HIGHLIGHTS: Patriots Robert Fratoni notches the hat trick and goaltender Steve Caggiano stops 24 shots to earn the shutout for Carroll Monsignor Bonner Friars 3 Bishop Shanahan Eagles 2 HIGHLIGHTS: Brian Scott makes 21 saves and Matt Fagioli, Tom Cavanaugh and Alex DeFruscio score as the Friars knock off Shanahan Quarter-Finals - AAA LaSalle Explorers 6 Father Judge Crusaders 1 HIGHLIGHTS: John Williams scores the hat trick as the Explorers outshoot Judge 31-9 Cardinal O'Hara Lions 6 Monsignor Bonner Friars 1 HIGHLIGHTS: Sean Coll scores twice as O’Hara breezes to win over EHSHL rival Bonner Germantown Academy Pioneers 11 Archbishop Carroll Patriots 5 HIGHLIGHTS: Andrew Seravelli notches three goals, Reed Marko scores a pair and Brian O’Neill picks up a goal and 3 assists as GA outguns Carroll. Holy Ghost Prep Firebirds 3 Malvern Prep 2 HIGHLIGHTS: John Soroka’s goal with 4:07 remaining in the 3rd period lead the Firebirds to upset over the 5-time defending Flyers Cup champions from Malvern Prep. Anthony Risoldi stops 29 of 31 shots for Holy Ghost. Semi-Finals - AAA Cardinal O'Hara 5 Holy Ghost Prep 3 HIGHLIGHTS: O’Hara erases a 2-0 deficit and scores three times in the third period to head to the Flyers Cup. Kevin Burke, Dave Devine, Jamie Lasher, Kevin Murray and Mike Cauley score for the Lions. O’Hara goaltender Ryan Klingensmith make 27 saves including 11 of 12 in the 3rd period. Ghost’s John Soroka has a goal and two assists for the Firebirds. Germantown Academy 3 LaSalle 1 HIGHLIGHTS: GA Goaltender Nick Stampone stops 30 of 31 shots and the Pioneers score three unanswered goals to advance to their 2nd straight Flyers Cup final. Reed Marko, Tom Palmer and Brennan O’Neill score for Germantown. Flyers Cup Final - AAA Sat 25/Mar Ice Works ~ 3:00 PM Cardinal O’Hara Lions 6 Germantown Academy Pioneers 3 HIGHLIGHTS: Cardinal O'Hara captures its first ever Flyers Cup with a convincing win over GA. The Lions race to a 4-0 lead after one period and 6-2 lead after two periods as Frank Cross scores twice and Mike Cauley, Jamie Lasher and Ryan Mahoney add singles for O'Hara. Germantown's goals are score by Brian O'Neill, Greg Dobson and Andrew Seravelli.

Flyers Cup AA - Preliminary Bishop McDevitt 7 Freedom Patriots 2 HIGHLIGHTS: Mike Pisko and Mike DeCristofano score twice to lead McDevitt to opening round win Hempfield Black Knights 5 Parkland Trojans 2 HIGHLIGHTS: Shane Dougherty scores twice and goaltender Pat Haggerty stops 24 shots to lead Hempfield into round two of Flyers Cup Central Dauphin Rams 2 North Penn Knights 1 HIGHLIGHTS: Drew Swigert makes 24 saves and Tony Augustine and Chad Weiss score as Central Dauphin upsets North Penn Abington Ghosts 4 Conestoga Pioneers 3 OT HIGHLIGHTS:Matt Leonardis scored his 2nd goal of the game at 6:24 of overtime to lead the Ghosts to a thrilling overtime win. Abington’s Joe Muscara tied the game with just 14 seconds left in regulation and Cameron Levy provided the opening score for the Ghosts. Flyers Cup AA - First Round Neshaminy Redskins 6 William Tennent Panthers 2 HIGHLIGHTS: Mike Clarke scores a pair of goals to lead Neshaminy Central Bucks South Titans 5 Hempfield Black Knights 2 HIGHLIGHTS: Andrew Reuter scores twice and Scott Lawson adds a goal and two assists to lead CB South to win over Hempfield Downingtown East Cougars 7 Washington Twp. Minutemen 5 HIGHLIGHTS: Cougars have seven different goal scorers to defeat SJSHL’s Washington Twp Cherokee 10 Bishop McDevitt [SHSHL] 1 HIGHLIGHTS: Patrick McMahon scores the hat trick and Kyle Manny scores twice for Cherokee West Chester Henderson 4 Pennsbury Falcons 3 [3 OT] HIGHLIGHTS: Rob Katich’s goal at 8:28 of overtime # 3 ends a marathon woth Pennsbury. Max Ashcroft of the Falcons and Christian Beren of Henderson score two goals each Central Dauphin Rams 3 West Chester East Vikings 2 HIGHLIGHTS: Drew Swigert with 24 saves as Rams score three times in the 2nd period to upset # 2 seed WC East as Chad Weiss, Andy Barlup and Chris Fetrow score for Dauphin Haverford High Fords 4 Abington Ghosts 3 HIGHLIGHTS: Lou Pepe’s goal with 6:40 remaining in the 3rd period breaks a 3-3 tie and advances the Fords. Dave Baker adds a goal and an assist for Haverford. Pennridge Rams 4 Ridley 2 HIGHLIGHTS: Glenn Galo scores twice and adds an assist and Mike Page stops 20 shots in net for Pennridge Quarter Finals - AA Downingtown East Cougars 6 Central Dauphin Rams 0 HIGHLIGHTS: Ben Souders scores three goals and add two assists to lead the Cougars into the Semi-finals and knock off Central Dauphin Haverford High 7 West Chester Henderson 2 HIGHLIGHTS: Neshaminy Redskins 3 Cherokee 2 HIGHLIGHTS: Frank Walter scores with 1:00 remaining in regulation and Kevin O'Neill makes 24 saves for Neshaminy Central Bucks South Titans 2 Pennridge 1 HIGHLIGHTS: Kevin McLane scores in 2nd overtime to send the Titans to the Semi-Finals for the 2nd consecutive year. Mike Burns of Pennridge ties the game with 35 seconds left in regulation time Semi-Finals Haverford High Fords 5 Neshaminy Redskins 2 HIGHLIGHTS: Chris Campli scores twice and T.J. Haberle, Jeff Needs, and T.J. Karpinski add singles as the Fords move one step closer to defending their Flyers Cup AA title from a year ago. Haverford's Jason Hazleton stops 23 of 25 shots. Central Bucks South Titans 3 Downingtown East Cougars 2 HIGHLIGHTS: Titans spot Downingtown East a 2-0 lead as Ben Souders and Ben Swink score for the Cougars. Central Bucks South scores three unanswered goals from Nick DiMarino with a pair and Andrew Reuter to advance to their first ever Flyers Cup. Reuter tied the game with 6:58 remaining in the 3rd period and DiMarino added the Game Winner with 4:53 to play in regulation time. 2006 Flyers Cup AA Finals Haverford High Fords 4 Central Bucks South Titans 0 HIGHLIGHTS: Haverford High captures their 2nd consecutive Flyers Cup AA championship with a 4-0 shutout over CB South at Hatfield. T.J. Haberle scores the opening two goals and Steve Karpinski and Jim Hazleton add 3rd period tallies for the Fords. Jason Hazleton turns aside all 12 Titans shots for the shutout for Haverford High. Congratulations to the Haverford High Fords - 2006 Flyers Cup AA Champs.

Flyers Cup AAA - Preliminary Holy Ghost Prep Firebirds 6 Roman Catholic Gladiators 3 HIGHLIGHTS: Holy Ghost outshot Roman 35-10 and was led by John Corcoran with a pair of goals and Nick Seravelli with 3 assists Father Judge Crusaders 5 Archbishop Wood Vikings 0 HIGHLIGHTS: Charles Donahue with a pair of goals and Bob Stewart picks up the shutout in goal Archbishop Carroll Patriots 5 Archbishop Ryan Raiders 0 HIGHLIGHTS: Patriots Robert Fratoni notches the hat trick and goaltender Steve Caggiano stops 24 shots to earn the shutout for Carroll Monsignor Bonner Friars 3 Bishop Shanahan Eagles 2 HIGHLIGHTS: Brian Scott makes 21 saves and Matt Fagioli, Tom Cavanaugh and Alex DeFruscio score as the Friars knock off Shanahan Quarter-Finals - AAA LaSalle Explorers 6 Father Judge Crusaders 1 HIGHLIGHTS: John Williams scores the hat trick as the Explorers outshoot Judge 31-9 Cardinal O'Hara Lions 6 Monsignor Bonner Friars 1 HIGHLIGHTS: Sean Coll scores twice as O’Hara breezes to win over EHSHL rival Bonner Germantown Academy Pioneers 11 Archbishop Carroll Patriots 5 HIGHLIGHTS: Andrew Seravelli notches three goals, Reed Marko scores a pair and Brian O’Neill picks up a goal and 3 assists as GA outguns Carroll. Holy Ghost Prep Firebirds 3 Malvern Prep 2 HIGHLIGHTS: John Soroka’s goal with 4:07 remaining in the 3rd period lead the Firebirds to upset over the 5-time defending Flyers Cup champions from Malvern Prep. Anthony Risoldi stops 29 of 31 shots for Holy Ghost. Semi-Finals - AAA Cardinal O'Hara 5 Holy Ghost Prep 3 HIGHLIGHTS: O’Hara erases a 2-0 deficit and scores three times in the third period to head to the Flyers Cup. Kevin Burke, Dave Devine, Jamie Lasher, Kevin Murray and Mike Cauley score for the Lions. O’Hara goaltender Ryan Klingensmith make 27 saves including 11 of 12 in the 3rd period. Ghost’s John Soroka has a goal and two assists for the Firebirds. Germantown Academy 3 LaSalle 1 HIGHLIGHTS: GA Goaltender Nick Stampone stops 30 of 31 shots and the Pioneers score three unanswered goals to advance to their 2nd straight Flyers Cup final. Reed Marko, Tom Palmer and Brennan O’Neill score for Germantown. Flyers Cup Final - AAA Sat 25/Mar Ice Works ~ 3:00 PM Cardinal O’Hara Lions 6 Germantown Academy Pioneers 3 HIGHLIGHTS: Cardinal O'Hara captures its first ever Flyers Cup with a convincing win over GA. The Lions race to a 4-0 lead after one period and 6-2 lead after two periods as Frank Cross scores twice and Mike Cauley, Jamie Lasher and Ryan Mahoney add singles for O'Hara. Germantown's goals are score by Brian O'Neill, Greg Dobson and Andrew Seravelli.