Freeport Yellow Jackets

CANONSBURG – Special Report by Pa Hockey When we last left Montour and Canon McMillan, each team was smouldering over narrow playoff losses. The Spartans fell in overtime to Chartiers Valley, which was easily the upset of the 2005 AA playoffs. Coach Dan Siegel’s club won a Division Championship, but the loss meant the graduation of several key players, which would mean a new group of Spartans led by Zach Perry will have to pick up the slack. Canon McMillan’s Penguins Cup semi-final appearance and loss to ultimate State Champions Peters Twp left a bad taste in many of the Big Macs mouths and did not satisfy head coach Dave Fryer, who felt his team was destined for a State Championship. CM returns some very solid offensive performers in Justin Cormack and Jesse Patnesky, but goaltending will have to there should this team has playoff aspirations While everyone was focused on the final result of the 2004-2005 season, I would like to recall some unfinished business in the form of a late season game between the two clubs at Neville Island Sports Center, where the teams battled to a 4-4 tie in a game that was curfewed leaving both teams flabbergasted as to why they couldn’t finish it. That was the last time these two teams met and frankly was the last great game either team played in the 2004-2005 season. What could have been a momentum builder in to the playoffs, became an asterisk on the scoresheet for a league, which compiled plenty of them throughout the season and during the playoffs and floods Gotham City with plenty of crime. After finding one of the final parking spaces in Canonsburg, not to be confused with the ‘Canonball’ [may it rest in piece], we set off into the Iceoplex to find a seat in the jammed packed arena with the ‘Concerned Citizens of Montour’ and Robin the Boy Wonder’s ‘Concerned Citizens of Canon McMillan’. With Music, pre-game Division Banners ceremonies, tailgate parties and the inability to find a plug to turn on the Bat Computer, we would have to rely on battery power from the Utility Belt to bring you all of the action. At 13:04 of the first period, Montour netminder freshman Matt Skoff stopped CM’s Justin Cormack, who broke around the Montour defense for the game’s first chance. Montour would strike first as at the 10:00 mark, Paul Ciotti played bumper pool to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead, on a shot that fooled goaltender Mike O’Neill and trickled past him. Montour continued the pressure on CM with a flurry of shots at around the 7minute mark, but O’Neill was equal to the task. The Big Macs struggled in their own end in the first period, but held off the Spartans keeping the 1-0 score in tact. With just :58 seconds remaining in the opening period, Canon McMillan was buzzing as Nick Cusilito and Justin Cormack dug the puck free and Jesse Patnesky was there for a tap-in to tie the score at one apiece. On to the second and at 13:39 of the period on the power play, the Spartans displayed some real nice puck movement and Zach Perry blasted a snapshot on a one-timer off an Aaron Siegel cross-ice feed to give Montour a 2-1 lead. Canon Mac had an early season mental mistake as they were caught with too many men on the ice at 6:31, giving the Black and Gold a chance to go up by two. CM’s Kyle Harnen had a great chance on a partial break at 5:19, but Matt Skoff cut down the angle and made a big save. Then the Spartans made them pay at 4:46 as Zach Perry went upstairs over the shoulder of O’Neill to make it a 3-1 hockey game, which Montour took to the ice cut. At 11:39 of the third period, Adam Rizza was parked out in front and took a pass from Josh Spano and burieda a snapshot past O’Neill for a hug insurance tally and a 4-1 lead for the Spartans. With 7:45 remaining, Justin Cormack broke down the off wing and Matt Skoff said no. Canon Mac went on the power play with 5:03 remaining to try a last ditch effort to get back in the game and with 4:03 left Justin Cormack finally solved Skoff skating around the zone and then down the middle of the ice blasting a slapshot high over the glove side to cut the lead to 4-2. With 2:20 remaining, the Big Macs went back on the power play, but the Spartans would shut the door for a 4-2 opening night victory.