Archbishop Carroll Patriots - 1981 AAA 2004 AA

CORAOPOLIS ~ Blackhawk coach Dave Stepanian loves the fact that his team is off to a 6-0-0 start, in first place and ranked # 4 in the Post Gazette poll. The Cougar coach knows that his team will do better when it faces division foes Sewickley Academy and Quaker Valley plus Wheeling Park after that over the next week or so. Blackhawk has done it with the excellent goaltender of John Fitzgerald and the stalwart defensive tandem of Sam Kristian and Eric Steadman leading the way. Quigley has had a rough start in 2003-2004, but head coach Bob DiVito and his trusty assistant coaches Hank and Chris Cummings know having stud forward Kenny Lytle back in the lineup would boast the fragile ego of a club which is off to an 0-4-1 start with losses to ranked teams Serra, Elizabeth Forward, Quaker Valley [2-1 OT] and Wheeling Park and a tie with defending Penguin Cup champion Westmont Hilltop. The Spartans also play with heavy hearts as long time Quigley stalwart Josh Singleton passed away on 9-14-2003 and his jersey hangs above their bench in memory, as he is sorely missed by the Quigley folks. The first period saw some good end to end action as John Fitzgerald made the games first big save on Josh Backus with a sliding stop at 13:01. The deceptive Matt Stepanian showed great presence as he gathered the puck below the goal line and threw the puck at the backside of Josh Brunner and trickled behind the Quigley goaltender for a 1-0 Cougar lead at 8:37. Blackhawk had a couple chances to go up 2-0 with no avail in the middle of the first period. John Fitzgerald became the story in the opening frame as he stoned Josh Backus again from point blank range at 7:17 and made several key saves in killing off a Spartan power play to hold onto a slim 1-0 advantage at the end of one period. On to the 2nd and Drew Bosco got behind the Quigley defense and beat Brunner on the forehand at 8:57 for a 2-0 lead for Blackhawk. Quigley showed great character by turning up their game a notch led by freshmen Sean Wormald and Tim Powell, who almost scored but were turned away by Fitzgerald. Then the Spartans got a break late in the period on a 3 on 1 as Josh Backus put the puck to the net and Kenny Lytle slammed home the rebound with just 48 ticks left and cut the lead to 2-1. Quigley kept on coming and almost tied it forcing the Cougars to take a penalty and put the Spartans on the power play to start the third. Quigley almost tied it on the power play in the 3rd as Nate Dobson just missed at 13:55. The Spartans finally tied the game at 9:45 as Kenny Lytle got behind the Blackhawk defense and made no mistake as he buried a shot upstairs on the stick side to knot the game at two apiece. Blackhawk showed resilience and why they are undefeated as all of their players seem to do the little things necessary to win close hockey games, a sign of good coaching. While Quigley was pressuring to go ahead, the Cougars struck when the had to as Drew Bosco and Eric Steadman provided some nice work to get the puck into the Quigley zone and to the front of the net where unheralded Zach McMillan was stationed and hit paydirt beating Brunner on the rebound at 5:03 for the game winner and a 3-2 Blackhawk victory and a perfect 7-0-0 record.

Special Report to Pa Hockey courtesy of Upper St Clair ~ CASTLE SHANNON - USC and Mt. Lebanon renewed their backyard rivalry Monday night with undisputed possession of first place in the AAA West Division on the line. Mt. Lebanon got on the board first, when Eric Sloan scored off a feed from Jack Millhouse late in the first period. USC stormed back early in the second. The Panthers tied it when Jeff Greenberg deflected a Kris McDonough shot from the right point. Less than two minutes later, Ian Joyce scored on a brilliant individual effort to put USC on top. The Panthers looked like they might take command, but the Blue Devils capitalized on a pair of USC penalties late in the period. Dan Wilen scored on the 5 on 3 off an assist from Tony Valerino, then Valerino scored on the ensuing 5 on 4 off an assist from Eric Sloan, as the Blue Devils led 3-2 at the end of two periods. USC picked up the tempo in the third in search of the tying goal, and got it midway through the period when Kris McDonough blasted a slap shot from the left point to beat Lebo goalie Matt Vaughn, off assists from Matt McGinnis and Jeff Greenberg. Both teams threatened late but Vaughn and USC goalie Kevin Gorder each made clutch saves to preserve the tie. After Mt. Lebanon out shot USC 19-17 through two periods, the Panthers had the upper hand in the third and in overtime, outshooting the Blue Devils 11-5, for a game total advantage of 28-24. An outstanding AAA game, with end to end action and only three penalties. With the tie, USC moves to 6-0-1, while Mt. Lebanon is now 6-1-1.

HARMARVILLE ~ Cathedral Prep Pete McCormick has inherited a hard working group of players which emulates ECP’s style going back over many years. The 2003-2004 season, what the Ramblers really miss in their lineup is the scoring punch of Jeff Dionosio, Kyle Rogers, Jon Merriott, and the others who have graduated, so Prep has resorted to hard work and playing on the edge to force opponents out of their game. Combined with a super goaltending tandem of David Schumaker and Ryan Zapolski, Prep was looking to make a little noise against Fox Chapel and get back in the North Division race. The Foxes have been quietly going about their business in an impressive 6-0 start and coach Keith Kearney would like keep it a secret as he has revamped the Foxes lineup through youth and balance. Where the Foxes may be very strong is between the pipes as Senior Todd Hendry has been one of Class AAA’s best goaltenders over the past two years and while the FC offense may become overzealous at times, the future public relations magnet Hendry has come up with some timely saves and has been real steady as the Foxes head into a real critical stretch of their schedule with Cathedral Prep, Mt Lebanon and finally a big divisional battle with Plum next Monday night. One of the keys to their early season success has been the Foxes ability to get scoring from up and down their lineup and early in the first it was Sam Stack, who opened the scoring at 11:02 beating David Schumaker. The game turned into a tight checking and physical affair, but Fox Chapel would score a critical goal from its top line as Kyle Misour cashed in with a little under a minute to play to extend the FC lead to 2-0. Prep did not concede and start to apply some pressure and the result was a great chance for Andrew Doyle alone in front, but a better save by Hendry who covered the net down low to keep the two goal advantage at 12:31. The Ramblers became a bit frustrated and took some undisciplined penalties creating a 5 on 3 for the Foxes. Joe Budz hit the post for FC at 10:28, but the Ramblers survived killing off the penalties. Prep was whistled again at 4:51 putting the Foxes on the Power Play and this time Fox Chapel would not be denied as Joe Budz and Matt Quigley banged away and Budz got the final stick on it giving FC a 3-0 lead. A delayed penalty gave Fox Chapel another power play and they cashed in again as Justin Kreps found a loose puck on the door step from a Sam Stack rebound and all the sudden it was 4-0 Foxes with 2:44 left. Prep fought back as Nick Longnecker and Andrew Callighan made a nice entry into the FC zone and Callighan fed Andrw Doyle, who buried a shot up over the shoulder of Hendry at 1:52 to put Prep on the board late in the second. The Ramblers had a 5 on 3 carryover to the third,with a big opportunity to get back into the game, but Fox Chapel was able to kill off the advantage. The Foxes put the game on ice as Jason Kreps [4:50] and Adam Petrovich [3:04] put the game out of reach for a 6-1 Fox Chapel victory and a perfect 7-0-0 record heading into a big showdown with Mt Lebanon Thursday at Valley Sports Complex.

Special Report to Pa Hockey courtesy of Upper St Clair ~ CASTLE SHANNON - USC and Mt. Lebanon renewed their backyard rivalry Monday night with undisputed possession of first place in the AAA West Division on the line. Mt. Lebanon got on the board first, when Eric Sloan scored off a feed from Jack Millhouse late in the first period. USC stormed back early in the second. The Panthers tied it when Jeff Greenberg deflected a Kris McDonough shot from the right point. Less than two minutes later, Ian Joyce scored on a brilliant individual effort to put USC on top. The Panthers looked like they might take command, but the Blue Devils capitalized on a pair of USC penalties late in the period. Dan Wilen scored on the 5 on 3 off an assist from Tony Valerino, then Valerino scored on the ensuing 5 on 4 off an assist from Eric Sloan, as the Blue Devils led 3-2 at the end of two periods. USC picked up the tempo in the third in search of the tying goal, and got it midway through the period when Kris McDonough blasted a slap shot from the left point to beat Lebo goalie Matt Vaughn, off assists from Matt McGinnis and Jeff Greenberg. Both teams threatened late but Vaughn and USC goalie Kevin Gorder each made clutch saves to preserve the tie. After Mt. Lebanon out shot USC 19-17 through two periods, the Panthers had the upper hand in the third and in overtime, outshooting the Blue Devils 11-5, for a game total advantage of 28-24. An outstanding AAA game, with end to end action and only three penalties. With the tie, USC moves to 6-0-1, while Mt. Lebanon is now 6-1-1.

HARMARVILLE ~ Cathedral Prep Pete McCormick has inherited a hard working group of players which emulates ECP’s style going back over many years. The 2003-2004 season, what the Ramblers really miss in their lineup is the scoring punch of Jeff Dionosio, Kyle Rogers, Jon Merriott, and the others who have graduated, so Prep has resorted to hard work and playing on the edge to force opponents out of their game. Combined with a super goaltending tandem of David Schumaker and Ryan Zapolski, Prep was looking to make a little noise against Fox Chapel and get back in the North Division race. The Foxes have been quietly going about their business in an impressive 6-0 start and coach Keith Kearney would like keep it a secret as he has revamped the Foxes lineup through youth and balance. Where the Foxes may be very strong is between the pipes as Senior Todd Hendry has been one of Class AAA’s best goaltenders over the past two years and while the FC offense may become overzealous at times, the future public relations magnet Hendry has come up with some timely saves and has been real steady as the Foxes head into a real critical stretch of their schedule with Cathedral Prep, Mt Lebanon and finally a big divisional battle with Plum next Monday night. One of the keys to their early season success has been the Foxes ability to get scoring from up and down their lineup and early in the first it was Sam Stack, who opened the scoring at 11:02 beating David Schumaker. The game turned into a tight checking and physical affair, but Fox Chapel would score a critical goal from its top line as Kyle Misour cashed in with a little under a minute to play to extend the FC lead to 2-0. Prep did not concede and start to apply some pressure and the result was a great chance for Andrew Doyle alone in front, but a better save by Hendry who covered the net down low to keep the two goal advantage at 12:31. The Ramblers became a bit frustrated and took some undisciplined penalties creating a 5 on 3 for the Foxes. Joe Budz hit the post for FC at 10:28, but the Ramblers survived killing off the penalties. Prep was whistled again at 4:51 putting the Foxes on the Power Play and this time Fox Chapel would not be denied as Joe Budz and Matt Quigley banged away and Budz got the final stick on it giving FC a 3-0 lead. A delayed penalty gave Fox Chapel another power play and they cashed in again as Justin Kreps found a loose puck on the door step from a Sam Stack rebound and all the sudden it was 4-0 Foxes with 2:44 left. Prep fought back as Nick Longnecker and Andrew Callighan made a nice entry into the FC zone and Callighan fed Andrw Doyle, who buried a shot up over the shoulder of Hendry at 1:52 to put Prep on the board late in the second. The Ramblers had a 5 on 3 carryover to the third,with a big opportunity to get back into the game, but Fox Chapel was able to kill off the advantage. The Foxes put the game on ice as Jason Kreps [4:50] and Adam Petrovich [3:04] put the game out of reach for a 6-1 Fox Chapel victory and a perfect 7-0-0 record heading into a big showdown with Mt Lebanon Thursday at Valley Sports Complex.