Freeport Yellow Jackets

Special Report to PA Hockey ~ Thanks to McDowell for this report ! MEADVILLE BULLDOGS – 3 McDOWELL TROJANS – 2 (OT) Phil Siverd scored the game winning goal just :37 seconds into the sudden death overtime on a feed from Christian Nikerson to lead Meadville to an exciting and entertaining 3 – 2 victory over division rival McDowell at the JMC Ice Arena in Erie Wednesday night. The first period was tightly played with few scoring opportunities for both teams. But with 1:10 left in the period, Mark Skirzynski picked up a loose puck and broke in on Meadville goaltender Danny O’Shurak before being hauled down from behind by the Bulldogs Nate Liscinski. The referee immediately whistled the foul as a penalty shot, and ‘Skritz’ took advantage by beating O’Shurak over the shoulder and off the cross-bar to give the Trojans a 1 – 0 lead after the opening stanza. The next two minutes of the game opened up with a spurt of 3 goals. Liscinski would atone for his 1st period penalty by getting the bulldogs even on a feed from Christian Nickerson 4:21 into the second period. Just :26 seconds later, Trojan Captain Gary Peterson was sent to the penalty box for cross-checking. It took Meadville :46 seconds to capitalize on the power play when O’Shurak started a break up ice and Nickerson rifled a shot past McDowell goaltender John Cleary to give Meadville the lead 2 – 1. But McDowell would counter just :53 seconds later on a fast break of their own as Brian Hammel broke in on goal and shot high on O’Shurak who made the initial save. But the pucked bounced into the air and Peterson was Johnny-on-the-spot to swat it out of mid-air and into the back of the net and tie up the game. McDowell came close to taking the lead at the end of the 2nd period as Skirzynski made an outstanding individual effort to out-hustle a Meadville defender and feed a perfect pass to a trailing Eric Trapp who hit the inside of the post only to see the puck stop under O’Shurak. The third period saw the game settle back down to a tightly played contest with few shots but some good scoring chances. Meadville had 2 shots rattle off goal posts while McDowell almost took advantage of an empty net with 1:30 left in the game as O’Shurak got caught out of the crease trying to play a puck up the ice. But in the ensuing scramble for the puck, the Trojans could not get enough control to get a shot on net and the period would end still tied at 2. With the defending state champion Bulldogs on the verge of going 0 – 2 to start the season, and the packed house creating an electric atmosphere, Siverd’s heroics ended the game in dramatic fashion and sent the upset-minded Trojans home on the short end of a hard fought loss. Although Meadville outshot McDowell by a 2 – 1 margin, the quality scoring chances were equal on both sides. Both goaltenders played outstanding as McDowell’s John Cleary stopped 33 of 36 shots and O’Shurak stopped 13 of 15. The game was a clean played affair with 3 penalties whistled on McDowell and only 2 on Meadville. The Bulldogs even their PIHL record at 1 – 1 (4 – 1 – 1 overall) while McDowell is 0 – 1 in the league (3 – 5 overall). Scoring By Period: Meadville / 0 – 2 – 0 – 1 = 3 McDowell / 1 – 1 – 0 – 0 = 2 Goal Scorers: Meadville / Nate Liscinski, Christian Nickerson, Phil Siverd McDowell / Mark Skirzynski, Gary Peterson Shots on Goal by Period: Meadville / 9 - 17 - 9 - 1 = 36 McDowell / 4 - 7 - 4 - 0 = 15