Freeport Yellow Jackets

DELMONT – Friday night Interscholastic Hockey is not something that is much of a tradition in Western Pennsylvania, because the Mr. Haney’s discipleship of the unneeded 6 AAA midget teams like to drink lots of Kool-Aid starting about 5 O’Clock for happy hour, which lasts essentially until the Monday morning hangover when somebody needs to go back to work and pay for these budding hockey careers. The battle between high school hockey and amateur hockey has reached a new level of ridiculousness, as now bantams and pee wees are calling off for freshman and junior varsity teams and subsequently, high school and amateur programs are dying off at an alarming level. Back in the 1997-98 season, as a coach at Franklin Regional, our program had 75 players with two freshman teams, a junior varsity and varsity team and Plum, our next door neighbor had well over 70 as well, with a developmental team, freshman team, two junior varsities and a varsity. Boy how times have changed in just seven years and although Plum has had a tremendous season at 16-3-1, clinching their 2nd division title in three years, there is great concern about the viability of the program. Even the aforementioned Franklin Regional has only 40 something players in its program. Ladies and Gentleman, the reason is cost. People are being priced out of high school hockey and this week the beginning of the avalanche is happening as 12-15 schools from the Johnstown area have announced plans to leave the PIHL for 2005-2006. So with Newt Kiley on hand to give and not present Plum their Division Championship trophy, and leave Penn Trafford’s in the lobby for the Center Ice staff to give their team, we all must wonder what the future holds. Ralph [not Murovich] and Alf are busy working on that banner for Connellsville (4-14-0), West Mifflin (4-15-0) and Trinity (4-15-0) for the Open Division South title, who are teams which have been busy snatching defeat from the jaws of victory at such an alarming rate, not even I can predict which one of those teams will back into a division title. One thing I can predict is that 2 or 3 of those programs will be extinct within the next few years. So Senior Night for this Plum team would be all the more special in Hooterville as coach Stu Rulnick and his sidekicks Jerry ‘Dr Evil’ Bass, Mike ‘I scored 100 goals in AAA and only ten against Connellsville’ Sargo and Sean Keller prepared their troups for a playoff run and maybe the people in Plum and Franklin are cherishing these Senior nights, because the parking lot was more crowded than the Pixley Bazaar, with cars parked down the hill, which could have disturbed the Lamplighter Nightclubs attraction, the Vogues, which also was a happening event in Delmont, Pa. The Mustangs have all the makings of a very good playoff team and are maybe a Serge Somma or Ian Beitler, plus a couple of bodies away from really putting together a playoff run, which is a direct byproduct of the lack of numbers in the program and the lack of cooperation between Interscholastic and Amatuer hockey. In town tonight was Mt Lebanon, the defending Penguins Cup champions of Paul Taibi and assistants Dave ‘I didn’t play for Mort at Bethel, but know Mr. Haney’ Dorsey and our good friend Bobby Montana, who is back in town after a trip on the Goodship Lollipop. So reluctantly as Mort and I maneuvered ourselves for parking position in the parking lot, Mr Montana triggers just by his prescence a Friday special edition of Whos Who night with Bethel Park’s Jim ‘Mort’ McVay, Norwin’s Dave Warren, North Allegheny’s Tom ‘I couldn’t miss tonight’s Pizza Pub meeting with my buddy Stu’ Pandolfo, Mrs Mary Jo Rulnick, Cindy ‘Mrs. Dr Evil’ Bass, Ron Valerino Sr, Ron Valerino Jr, Norm Uddstrom, Mt Lebanon Pres Gina Colligan, Ralph ‘the real Ralph and real contractor’ Murovich, Dave ‘I dropped out of the top 5 fans for Pa Hockey because I go to the Boulevard’ Scott, Lou ‘I am still coaching the Gator’s’ Biancanello, his sidekick Ray ‘I have way too much time on my hands’ Leith, and Mr and Mrs Bob Smith Sr in attendance to watch their grandson, while son Bobby was home or at the Pixley library studying up on ‘Due Process’, but here in spirit, and a whole host of other people to jockeying back and forth between the Franklin –USC game and this one. Arnold ‘Slick’ Ziffel would be in front of his television as Plum ‘do we have PIHL television rights?’ Cable access was on hand to televise tonight’s affair before a packed house at Center Ice Arena. Sorry about that…..anyway, Mt Lebanon has been one of Class AAA’s best teams in the 2nd half of the season and it has been the development of a number of players, who have flourished under coach Taibi’s system and the emergence of a solid third line unit, who wreck havoc on opposing teams and contribute each night to a total team effort. This enable’s the Blue Devils to have their top guns fresh late in the game or in key situations when the game is on the line, which is a contrast to Plum’s lack of numbers, which could be the difference in this very important seeding game. Mt Lebanon goaltender Evan ‘Max’ Baehr has also been sharp as of late, particularly in the Blue Devils 1-0 win over Bethel Park a week ago and will be a key player in Lebo’s defense of their title. Plum came out with grit and emotion in the opening minutes as the first period turned into a physical tight checking period. Phil Mains, who is arguably the best defenseman in Class AAA, was doling out checks like it was the first of the month and the senior defenseman struck the game’s first tally as he read the play and pounced on a Ben Colosmo rebound and beat Baehr at 9:24 to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead. Mt Lebanon regained their momentum on a power play that they didn’t score on at 4:03, but the affect may have resulted in a late goal in the period as freshman Tyler Murovich used his quickness to beat Brandon King on a Brandon Dornish rebound with just 27 seconds remaining in the opening period. On to the second period and after a 4 on 4 situation expired the Blue Devils went to work down low which left a wide open point and Matt Bartkowski, who blistered a slapshot through traffic and past King for Mt Lebanon’s first lead at 12:15. Plum looked to be a little tired and Mt Lebanon took the tempo up a notch in the middle of the period and the result was a loose puck in the slot and an opportunistic Tony Valerino, who found the puck and roofed it up under the crossbar [which several people including Mt Lebanon behind the net thought never went in] but it was ruled a goal and Mt Lebanon now has a 3-1 lead with 4:48 remaining. Back came the Mustangs in the 3rd as a streaking Ryan Griffin took a great cross ice pass from Mains and beat Baehr cleanly to cut the lead to 3-2. Plum was building some more momentum and executed some nice work in the offensive zone as Jonathon Smith, beat the Mt Lebanon defense and found Ben Colosmo, who buried a wrist shot upstairs at 8:14 to tie the game at three apiece. The Mustangs looked to take this game but Evan Baehr made a nice stop on David Dicau at 8:01 and Plum had another chance on the power play at 6:48, which they could not capitalize on giving Mt Lebanon a little momentum. Enter Mt Lebanon’s Shane Ferguson and one of the teams money players when the game is on the line [who sat the bench with a slight injury and could afford to with 18 players on the bench] and Fergy delivered as he swooped into the Plum zone found a rebound and lofted an ‘Arnold Slick if you will’ backhand, which handcuffed Brandon King and gave the Blue Devils a 4-3 lead with 4:14 remaining. All of the hard work of Plum to mount a comeback turned to frustration and an ill-advise penalty at 4:14 and The Blue Devils knew what was coming next as their chairman of the boards Tony Valerino put closure to a Plum upset slamming home a rebound with :49 seconds left to send the Plum faithful to the parking lot with a key 5-3 Mt Lebanon victory keeping them tied with Bethel Park, in the loss column, behind North Allegheny.