Freeport Yellow Jackets

2005 Greensburg CC Final Greensburg CC 5 Norwin 2 On the trek to Greensburg Kirk Nevin arena, I couldn’t help to reflect about the many drives to practice each Thursday to Kirk Nevin for my high school team. What I really looked forward to knowing that every practice and every game, each of my teammates would be there with one single goal in mind, a league championship and a state championship, which our team accomplished in 1979 and came within one game of in 1980. In those days, there were travel teams and amateur programs and those teams played on the weekend and the high schools played during the week. The concept was that players would be afforded the ability to play for both teams and have the advantage of getting as much ice time as possible to improve their skills. A novel idea! In those days, there was as much debate as there is now about High School vs Amateur or Travel and that theory was put to test my senior year as my high school team participated in the annual Laurel Tournament, which is still held at Kirk Nevin and we beat the Westmoreland Midget AAA Team handily 5-1 in the Finals and were never invited back. So all of these people from THIS era [many of who coincidentally are now parents of current players] who want to tell me about their AAA midget programs and Junior B teams and how great that hockey is….my answer is to schedule the games. North Allegheny, Bethel Park and Meadville have a long history of not being afraid to play the AAA or AA midget or Junior B teams [which they did last season], but all I heard about was how the Junior B’s and the Midget AAA’s would beat them by eight or nine goals. When these players put up 100 goals in a 20 something season like Mike Sargo did for Gateway or John Mooney did for Serra Catholic, I will be a believer and both of those guys played travel hockey too and on the flip side, Ryan Malone and RJ Umberger, who played Division 1 and are now professional hockey players both played High School Hockey! Greensburg CC has a long history of winning teams including three Pennsylvania State Championships in the early to mid-1990’s with the last coming in 1996 with a victory over Upper Darby at the Johnstown War Memorial under coach Butch Marrietta. Current head coach Bill Bucholtz knows the Centurians were close to a run a year ago with hard fought 2-1 loss to eventual Pa AA champs Peters Twp in the Elite 8. With a strong nucleus returning led by sophomore goaltender Ryan Homanics and sophomore scoring machine Alfonso Arevalo, GCC could be one of the teams looking to take the next step in the process back to prominence in Class AA. All of the Centurians were present and accounted for cause they have a goal in mind from a year ago. The Norwin hockey program has been stuck in the mode of Class AAA whipping boys for the likes of the Bethel Park’s, Mt Lebanon’s, Meadville’s, etc. Coach Dave Warren likes the early season success of the Knights as they entered this evening’s Greensburg CC Invitational final on a roll of four straight victories including a heartstopping overtime win over Plum. The guarded optimism is that Norwin must have ALL of their guns in the lineup. Their best player and in my opinion one of the better returning forwards in Class AAA, Jimmy Recupero was noticeably absent and had a date with the Penguin [not the Penguins] for a mandatory October reindeer practice and is not allowed to come play with his team and his friends in front of neighbors and peers in a game of significance that the Norwin program has seen in a long time. So what would and should have been a match-up of this tournament’s two top talents was only left for imagination. With a packed house of GCC fans and Norwin students and faithful, the game began and GCC looked confident from the outset. At 13:47, the Centarians Evan George walked off the near board and slipped a wrist shot through the 5-hole of Mike Pochan for an early 1-0 GCC advantage. Then at 11:26 of the opening on the power play, the Centurians struck again as Frank Jupena whipped through the slot and lofted a backhander past the stick side of Pochan to make it 2-0. At 10:43, Dave Ulishney pounced on a loose puck in tight and deposited it past the Norwin goaltender to make it a quick 3-0 lead. The Knights would have an opportunity to get back in the game with a power play after the 3rd GCC goal in the first, which it failed, but made the best of a second chance at 7:48 as Mike Ulicny fought off the Centurian defenders and scored on a second rebound to put Norwin within striking distance at 3-1. Greensburg kept up the pressure on the Norwin defense and Dave Mattock cashed in at 4:02 for a 4-1 GCC stronghold on the game. On to the second we went and GCC continued the onslaught on Norwin goaltender Mike Pochan as Dan Seijk scored at 9:11 to make it a 5-1 advantage. With 1:39 remaining in the second, the Norwin faithful had something to cheer about as Jesse Kunkle burying a shot past Homanic on the power play to cut the lead to 5-2. So Norwin had to face the third period with an uphill climb of being down three without their difference maker and as well Phil Gigliotti, who went down with an injury in the 2nd. Mike Pochan returned to the form of the Plum game making a stop on the sniper Arevalo at 13:09. The Knights would have another chance on the power play at 12:27, but would not capitalize. Another power play at 8:30 for Norwin and nothing to show for it. Then frustration with 5 ½ left as the Knights took a penalty and GCC retaliated. The final count would turn out 5-2 in favor of the Centurians of Greensburg CC and their third title in four years as the teams headed toward the regular season in two weeks.

2005 Greensburg CC Invitational Semi-Finals – Greensburg CC 4 Franklin Regional 3 Another hockey season is nearing and for the past 10+ years a prelude to the season has been the Greensburg CC Invitational, which used to feature the top AA teams in its inception and now is a warm-up for teams from the East Suburbs. The Invitational has history dating back to the mid-1990’s, witness to many superb players and teams over the years. Greensburg CC and Franklin Regional Greensburg CC have a long history as well and was one of the most fierce rivalries in all of Interscholastic Hockey in the 1990’s and the home of Penguins Cup Champions and Finalists in 1991,1992,1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997. More recently, GCC won the championship in 2002 defeating Plum 2-1 and again in 2003 defeating Fox Chapel 3-1 in the final and Franklin Regional captured the title in 2001 defeating Plum. The first period was fast paced and scoreless with very even play and good goaltending by Central’s Ryan Homanics and the Panther’s James Orr. Then with 1:06 remaining Alfonso Arevalo released a quick shot from the bottom of the face-off circle beating James ‘Bobby’ Orr down on the ice for a 1-0 GCC lead. On to the 2nd we went and FR pressed to tie the game and the best opportunity came at 11:08 as GCC goaltender Ryan Homanics stopped Ryan Kramer on the breakaway to keep the Centarians on top 1-0. The Panthers would get the equalizer as Daniel Neal converted a back door pass from left point Tim McDonough at 7:20 tying the game at one apiece. Greensburg CC regained the lead 2-1 as Alfosno Arevalo beat the Franklin defense and then James Orr on the backhand with great speed and an even better move at 6:19 less than a minute after FR tied it. Back came the Panthers at 3:39 after some good work as Joe Nicoletti redirected the puck on the backhand on a rebound from Patrick Coyne, who threw the puck in front to tie the game again at 2-2. Franklin Regional outshot GCC in the third, but the Centarians would have the period’s first chance but James Orr stopped Evan George at 9:32, who was in alone from point blank range. Central regained the lead 3-2 as Nick Vukmarowich scored on a bang bang play rebound of Alfonso Arevelo with 7:32 remaining in regulation. A Centarian mental mistake with too many men penalty on the ice with just 4:47 left and led to a power play goal as Franklin’s Joe Nicoletti tipped a Daniel Neal shot from between the circles on the ice past Ryan Homanics with 4:22 remaining to knot the score at 3-3. Franklin went on the power play with 2:41 remaining and an opportunity to win the game, but GCC killed it. Then with just :07 left Alfonso Arevelo completed the hat trick beating James Orr with an overpowering slapshot on through the 5-hole sending the Centarians back to the finals for the 3rd time in 4 years with a heartstopping 4-3 victory over their former archrivals from Murrysville. Semi-Finals –Norwin 5 Plum 4 [OT] The Norwin Knights are a team, which could surprise many in 2006 and coach Dave Warren hopes to conserve his big guns to move a little bit further than last year’s play-in game for the Penguins Cup playoffs. Coach Warren’s squad returns Jimmy Recupero & David Ulicny and welcomes Jesse Kunkle and Phil Gigliotti to compliment a now experienced group of players. The Knights have been impressive with wins over Kiski, Latrobe and Penn Trafford thus far in the tournament and a loss to Franklin Regional to capture the # 1 seed in the Gray Division and a spot in Semis for the first time in a long time for Norwin Hockey. Plum on the other hand is still in training of a young corps of defense and some relatively new players up front. Former Mustang and Head Coach Shaun Keller knows that time is on his team’s side as the more experience his young players get in the pre-season, the better his team will be down the stretch toward the playoffs. A 7-1 thumping at the hands of North Allegheny in the St Margaret’s Fall Face-Off semi-finals was a tough loss to stomach for some Mustangs faithful, but Plum was right back on the horse in the GCC Semi-Finals with a 3-1 preliminary round finish with the only blemish coming at the hands of awaiting finalist Greensburg CC 2-0 in the 2nd game of the tournament. A festive crowd including the Plum Cow Bells and the Norwin students and faithful on hand for the second semi-final as Norwin and Plum squared off with the winner getting a date with GCC in Thursday’s final. Plum opened the scoring at 10:11 of the first period as David Humphries scored on the rebound of Jon Smith for a 1-0 advantage. The first period was evenly contested and shots were five apiece. The Mustangs had a great chance to extend 2:52 Norwin goaltender stopped Matt Giunta on a breakaway . Giunta would have another breakaway at 10:39 of the second but was hauled down resulting in a penalty shot and a rare 3rd breakaway early in the middle period. The speedy Plum forward tried to deke on the forehand but the Norwin goaltender Mike Pochan was equal to the task keeping the score 1-0. The Knights used the momentum from their goaltender and struck quickly as Mike Ulicny blasted a slapshot over the shoulder of John Bronder at 6:45 to tie the score at one apiece. Just six seconds later Adam Ference got an early Christmas present as Jimmy Recupero set him up for a tap-in to give Norwin a 2-1, which they took to the third. Plum kept up the pressure on Norwin and kept pouring the shots on Mike Pochan and finally at 9:57 the Mustangs cracked the safe as 9:57 as Matt Giunta found the puck on a loose scramble in front on a Jon Smith rebound to tie the game at two apiece. With 8:39 remaining Andy Weston walked between the circles and buried a wrist shot down on the ice through the 5-hole to give the Mustangs the lead 3-2. Moments later, the Knights poured on some pressure of their own, but John Bronder was able to cover the loose puck with 8:14 remaining. Plum was now looking to go up by two, but Jon Smith was stoned by Pochan and Giunta just missed with a little over 6 ½ left. Then with 5:32, the Knights gained the equalizer as welcome transplant via New York Phil Gigliotti buried a wrist shot upstairs on the shortside over the shoulder of John Bronder to tie the score at 3-3. Norwin would have the opportunity on the power play to win it with 3:58 to play in regulation as they went on the power play. Jimmy Recupero just missed with 3:15 over the net and Plum came right back just seconds later as Jon Smith used great speed and puck protection and after being hauled down slipped the puck past Pochan to give the Mustangs a shorthanded goal and a 4-3 lead with 2:54 left. Norwin still had power play time left and with 2:28 remaining, Jimmy Recupero scored from on the doorstep to tie the game at 4-4. Knight keeper Pochan stopped Ben Colsomo and Smith on consecutive chances with a little over two minutes to go and the game remained tied into overtime with Plum outshooting Norwin 32-15 through three periods. With 2:52 remaining in OT Andy Weston got behind the Norwin defense and was unable to beat Pochan. Weston had a chance with 1 ½ left and Pochan sprawled out to make save # 29 on the night. Norwin went on the power ply with 1:22 remaining and Jimmy Recupero delivered 13 seconds later taking a cross ice pass from Mike Ulicny and burying a wrist shot upstairs over John Bronder at 1:09 for a power play goal, a heartstopping win and sending the Knights to the finals of the GCC Invitational to face Greensburg CC.

2005 St Margarets Fall Face-Off Championship Fox Chapel 4 North Allegheny 1 Fox Chapel has not been to the St Margaret’s Fall Face-Off final since they won the championship in 1997 and 1996, defeating Franklin Regional both years, so lets just say its been a while for the Foxes. Coach Jim Damp’s club defeated Shaler 6-0 and North Hills 5-3 to gain a spot in the final. This version of the Fox Chapel Hockey team has a few familiar faces in Kyle Misour and Joey Budz and maybe an emerging one in goaltender Eric Thiessen, who will give the Foxes an opportunity to win quite a few games this season. Fox Chapel will get an opportunity to face new divisional rival North Allegheny, as Gotham City AAA again shuffles the deck and NA finds itself in a division with FC, North Hills, Shaler and Seneca Valley. North Allegheny knows all about the St Margaret’s Fall Face-Off and the finals making it seven out of nine years since Fox Chapel won it in 97. Head Coach Tom Pandolfo will be looking for a three-peat in the St Margaret’s Fall Face-Off as he prepares his squad to try to mirror last season’s magical run. The Tigers return some high powered offense in returnees Garrett Waldschmidt, Chris Gilson and Chris Simanic, who have been in on the wins over Pine Richland and Plum, but what has been more impressive is some of the young new Tiger players, who bring fresh air to a lineup which will be hungry to fight back to the top of the heap in Class AAA. So before an intimate gathering at the big rink at Harmarville, the 2005 Fall Face-Off finals would bring this tournament its 13th champion with North Allegheny capturing four [1998, 2001,2003 & 2004] and Fox Chapel owning the aforementioned two titles [1996&1997]. End to end action in the opening minutes resulted in limited chances for both teams, the best coming off the stick of Kyle Misour, who nearly scored on a shot that just went wide. Early in the season is usually a time of mental mistakes and NA made the first one being caught for too many men at the 8 minute mark. Another penalty at 6:19 put the Tigers down two men for 20 seconds. Fortunately for NA, coach Damp has not had much of a chance to work on the power play and the Tigers methodically killed off the disadvantage. Then the Tigers settled in a started their assault and with 1:25 remaining in the first Chris Simanic was the recipient of a nice doorstep pass from Chris Gilson for a tap-in and a 1-0 NA lead with 1:25. Fox Chapel came right back with 30 seconds left in the opening period as Chris Hughes blistered a shot from the left face off circle to tie the score. The Foxes were not done yet as Andrew McCoy chipped home a Josh Balicki rebound past Max Richards with just 4 seconds left top give the Foxes a 2-1 lead sending the spirited Fox Chapel student section into a tizzy. Eric Thiessen stood tall early in the second as the shots reached 14-6 with just a minute gone and the Foxes clinging to a 2-1 lead stopping Wes Waldschmidt at 13:14. NA Goaltender Max Richards made a nice save on Kyle Misour at 12:41 from point blank range. Joey Budz extended the Fox Chapel lead at 4:43 on an unassisted goal to give the Foxes a 3-1 lead. North Allegheny continued its onslaught with 13 shots to the Foxes 4, but they could not beat Eric Thiessen. On to third we went and North Allegheny was still trying to solve Thiessen outshooting them 26-12. The chances ….were plenty …first it was Chris Simanic hitting the post early in the power play. Then Ian McGlumphy from point blank range. Then another power play came and Wes Waldschmidt was stopped by Thiessen at 8:15 from the slot. The Tigers pelted Thiessen with shots but could not score as they were only able to score once in 36 shots. As fate would have it Fox Chapel would have the final say in this one as Alex Haak picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and made a nifty move to side-step an NA defenseman at the blue line and then unleashed a blistering wrist shot high over the glove side of Max Richards 1:24 to wrap up a 4-1 FC victory and the 3rd St Margaret’s Fall Face-Off championship since the tournaments inception in 1993. These two teams will meet again October 31st at Harmarville as they open the 2005-2006 season. Consolation Game – October 13, 2005 Pine Richland 6 North Hills 5 The nice feature about the St Margaret’s Fall Face-Off event is that it matches mostly teams from North and East of the city against each other, so many of the players, parents and coaches know each other through years of hockey in playing in Amatuer and High School Hockey. Pine Richland coach Jimmy Black, for instance, coached at North Hills a couple of years back so this game would have a little meaning to him, which hopefully he can relay to his players. The other item at stake is that I am sure the Rams would like to sport two wins heading into the regular season, a mere two weeks away with the lone blemish, a tough 2-1 loss to Penguins Cup AAA finalist North Allegheny. The Indians of North Hills and their head coach Matt Hansen have high expectations coming into this season, especially with last year’s strong finish and a core group of that team returning. A win over Penguins Cup AA finalist Pine Richland, will help the confidence level of a team heading for an opening four games of the regular season which includes AAA powers Penn Trafford and North Allegheny twice in November. The Rams dominated the first period outshooting NH 16-3. Phil Trombetta converted a Geoff Bagnato pass to give PR a 1-0 lead with 11:30 left. The Indians returned the favor less than a minute later as David Hansell raced 120 feet and beat the Ram defense and Stoney Hildreth low to the glove side to knot the score at one apiece at 10:26. The game seemed pretty even at this point, but the Rams turned up the offense late in the period. After Dylan Trombetta was stopped on the breakaway with 3:18 remaining in the opening period, Brian Miller cashed in with just 52 ticks left for a 2-1 PR lead and Drew Lilly closed out the period scoring with just 1.6 seconds left for a 3-1 advantage for the Green and White. On to the second period we went and the Indians had an opportunity on the power play and converted on their 5th shot as Jeremy Kubit poked a rebound past Stoney Hildreth at 9:46 to cut the gap to 3-2. Did I say momentarily ? Well I utter something because as fast as I looked up freshman sensation Dylan Trombetta combined with his linemate and brother Phil and Brian Miller to regain the two-goal lead at 4-2 at 9:26. PR continued its dominance and opened up a 5-2 lead as Jordan Yoklic scored at 4:05. The Indians closed the gap to two goals as Drew Stein tallied with 2:32 left and the Rams went to the ice cut with a 5-3 lead. With 13:27 remaining in the 3rd, Georg Saad outmuscled the North Hills defense and poked the puck past NH netminder Zaid Alzaid to make it a 6-3 count. NH’s David Hansell picked up his 2nd goal on a blistering shot from the top of the circle to bring the Indians within two at 6-4 . The Indians then took advantage of a poor clearing attempt with 2:58 left as Jared Waters kept the puck in the zone and David Hansell beat Hildreth to the puck and shipped it over the fallen goaltender to make it a 6-5 game. The Rams would hold on for the win outshooting the Indians 30-18.

Semi - Finals Fox Chapel 5 North Hills 3 Fox Chapel has had some very good teams over the past few years and has been snakebitten in the St Margaret’s Fall Face Off over the past few years. Jim Damp’s squad was looking to get by the semi final round, which they have failed to do the past three years. North Hills is still riding the wave from late last season as the Indians won a slew of games down the stretch into the playoffs. Without leading scorer Fred Latini, it would be a tough task for the Indians to reach the finals over the Foxes. Fox Chapel raced to a 3-0 lead through two periods on goals by Kyle Misour, Andrew McCoy and Steven Bartynski, while Eric Thiessen continued pitching shutouts between the pipes stopping all 18 Indians shots. NH came back in the third and made a game of it as David Hansell, Nick Rostek and Mark Ringeling scored goals to sandwich a Joe Budz goal and make it a 4-3 game into the games final four minutes. Eric Thiessen would be the star of this game with several key saves in the final period and stopping 24 shots on the evening. Steven Bartynski netted and empty netter for a 5-3 final for the Foxes. Fox Chapel returns to the St Margaret’s Fall Face Off final for the first time since 1997 when the Foxes won two consecutive titles over Franklin Regional. North Allegheny 7 Plum 1 A rematch of the 2004 and 2004 St Margaret’s Fall Face Off finals both won by the North Allegheny Tigers over the Plum Mustangs, tonight’s semi-final of the 2005 tournament matched two teams who were hit hard by graduation, but both are in the proving stage to their seasons from a year ago in one form or another. Plum is looking to repeat as two time division champions and the Tigers are looking to take the next step in the process of ultimately their ultimate goal of a State Championship. John Bronder with a few nice stops early on around the 10-minute mark and Plum was the recipient of the games first power play at 9:21 and didn’t score. The second power play would result in the games opening goal at 4:49 as Chad Covol took a beautiful feed from Ben Colosmo and made no mistake beating Max Richards for a 1-0 Plum lead. NA outshot the Mustangs 9-6 in the opening period. The Tigers came out smoking in the middle period as Chris Simanic scored on a second chance beating a sprawling Bronder to tie the score at 14:43. NA took its first lead just 22 ticks later as Josh Herbert walked out of the corner and beat the Plum goaltender through the 5-hole to make it 2-1. Max Richards made his first big save of the game at 11:54 of the 2nd as he stopped Jon Smith on a clean break after a nifty spin-a-rama to elude two Tiger defensemen and keep North Allegheny on top 2-1. Then at 6:29, the Tigers Chris Gilson undressed the Plum defense and beat Bronder on the backhand to push the lead to 3-1. North Allegheny made the power play count with some very nice puck movement as Chris Simanic finished off a nice cross crease feed from Alan Halapin with a little under 4 minutes to go to make it 4-1. The Tigers iced the game in the third period with three goals as Josh Herbert, Joe Camut and Dan Gaertner scored for North Allegheny for a 7-1 final and a fifth consecutive trip to the Fall Face Off Finals looking for its 4th championship. NA defeated Plum in 2004 and 2003 and Hampton in 2001, with its only loss to Franklin Regional in 2002. In fact, after further review, the Tigers have been to the finals 7 out of the last nine years. Consolation Round – October 11, 2005 Pine Richland 7 Franklin Regional 3 Franklin Regional tied the game at 3-3 as John Cecere scored 29 seconds into the 3rd period. Pine Richland showed why many consider them the most explosive team in all of Class AA as the Rams rattled off four consecutive goals in less than ten minutes to defeat the Panthers. George Saad notched a hat trick and Josh Fodor added a pair of goals, while Steven Adams and Dylan Trombetta scored singles for the Rams. Turner Andritz, Shane Crossey and Cecere scored for the Panthers. Hampton 5 Shaler 3 Hampton avenged a defeat in the Fall Face Off from a year ago with a 5-3 victory over Shaler. Rick Coyle, Patrick Duffy, Chase Evans, Eric Kelly and Jordan Dellatorre scored for the Talbots, who broke a 3-3 tie with 10:50 remaining in the 3rd period. Brian Ulanowicz scored twice for the Titans, while Grant Duss added a single.

2005 St Margarets Fall Face-Off First Round – October 10, 2005 Plum 5 Franklin Regional 3 When we last left the Plum Hockey program, the disappointment of a hard fought playoff loss brought tears and pride from a group of players who overachieved and came within one goal of advancing to the Penguins Cup Semi-Finals. It was here at the St Margarets Fall Face-Off, we first noticed the Mustangs as a team to be reckoned with in the hunt for playoff glory. That task will be a higher hill to climb as former Plum star Shaun Keller takes the reigns from Stu ‘Pizza Pub’ Rulnick, as the Mustangs must figure a way to replace Philip Mains, Ryan Griffin amongst the graduating seniors who have departed. The leadership of the team will begin and end with Jonathon Smith, Matt Giunta, David Humphries and Ben Colosmo, who will be counted on to carry this year’s offensive load. Franklin Regional and Head coach Jim Daugherty, know all about graduation as the program once rich in numbers and talent has dwindled to only a Varsity and Junior Varsity. It has only been 3 years in 2003 since the Panthers trip to the Penguins Cup final and they have felt the pinch as several potential key players have decided not to play for FR and only play amateur hockey and whether they are superstars or not, they are ingredients, which could make them a 2nd or 3rd round potential playoff team in 2006, but will ultimately result in early round playoff disappointment. FR looks to Joel Sirianni, Joe Nicoletti and swift skating sophomore Turner Andritz to lead the charge up front. Plum goaltender John Bronder made the games first big save stopped Brian Buckley on a partial breakaway with 9 ½ left on the opening period. The Panthers had the advantage with the games early chances and struck on the power play as Joe Nicoletti pounced on a rebound off a Greg Peters shot from the left point at 6:52 and beat Bronder for a 1-0 FR lead. At 10:38 of the 2nd period the Plum cowbells starting ringing a familiar tune as Jonathon Smith saucered a beautiful pass and Matt Giunta did the rest tying the game at one apiece beating freshman goaltender James Orr from right on the door step. Franklin came right back at 7:41 as Jared Yesko cashed in from point blank to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead. It didn’t take long for the Mustangs to knot the score at 2-2 at 5:43 on shorthanded breakaway as Matt Giunta notched his 2nd goal. FR came right back on the power play as John Cecere scored at 3:48 giving FR a 3-2 lead. Plum didn’t take long to tie it as Ben Colosmo buried a shot after hard work by linemate freshman Andy Weston at 14:43 to tie the game at 3-3. A little over two minutes later, the Mustangs struck again as Colosmo scored his 2nd to give Plum a 4-3 lead. Franklin appear to tie it at 11:23, but the goal was waived off as a player was in the crease. Franklin went on the power play and John Bronder came up with a big save on Joel Sirianni, who danced around the Plum defense at 10:13 as the Mustangs clung to a 4-3 advantage. Freshman David Smith would seal the victory for the Mustangs with an empty netter 40 seconds remaining for a 5-3 Plum victory and a 3rd consecutive date in the semi-finals of the St Margaret’s Fall Face-Off. Bronder finished a very strong performance between the pipes stopping 25 of 28 shots including several chances in the final period. North Hills 4 Hampton 2 North Hills had a very good end to the 2005 season with a strong finish to the campaign and a near upset in the first round of the playoffs against Penn Trafford. Matt Hansen takes over a squad which could be a surprise team in Class AAA and returns some quality starters including Nick Rostek, Fred Latini and Dave Hansell. Hampton had a miserable season in 2004-2005 and coach John Jennings hopes that a new season brings better results and the Talbots can bring their program back to playoff prominence. North Hills opened up the 2005 Fall FaceOff with a 4-2 win over the Talbots bursting to a 4-0 lead after two periods. Fred Latini, Dan Stein, and Nick Rostek with a pair led the way as the Indians advanced to the Semi-Finals. Former Central Catholic defenseman Rick Coyle and John Balish. Fox Chapel 6 Shaler 0 Fox Chapel returns a strong corps of players from a playoff team for Jim Damp in 2005-2006 including Kyle Misour, Joe Budz and Justin Kreps along with goaltender Eric Thiessen. The Foxes should be in a battle with several teams jockeying for playoff position in the season’s 2nd half. Shaler, on the other hand is coming off a year of growing pains and will battle just to be able to compete at the AAA level. First year coach Steve Esau will rely on the goaltending of senior Nick Bennardo and young core of players and junior Grant Duss, who returns to Shaler after a year off. Fox Chapel defeated rival Shaler in 04-05 three times and picked up right where they left off spanking the Titans 6-0. Kyle Misour racked up four goals and Alec Chang and Steven Bartinski added single. Eric Thiessen stopped all 25 shots he faced as the Foxes moved on to the Semi-Finals to face North Hills. North Allegheny 2 Pine Richland 1 Pine Richland finish a great season in 04-05 falling in the Penguins Cup AA final to eventual State Champions Peters Twp. Coach Jim Black has modest expectations this season as the Rams return the majority of their nucleus from a year ago including leaders Josh Fodor, Steven Adams, Phil Trombetta and Brendan Conlon, but one loss that will hurt their effort will be Tom DiDinato, who opted not to play High School Hockey . PR will be one of the favorites by many not only to return to the Penguins, but to go where no Ram squad has been, to dare I say the State Finals. North Allegheny coach Tom Pandolfo accomplished just about everything last season as NA won everything in site including a date with Bethel Park in the Panguins Cup AAA finals for the first time ever. One goal is all the Tigers surrendered in the entire playoffs to Bethel in the final and an unreal goaltending performance by the Hawks Bryce Merriam and unseized opportunities led to a Pennsylvania playoff first and the Hawks moved on and won the Class AAA State Championship and NA was left to wonder what happened. The Tigers return with a little less firepower, but now understand the process of what it takes to get there and with Wes Waldschmidt, Paul Dittrich, Alan Halapin and a young but talented supporting cast, coach Pandolfo will try to orchestrate another run and begin to defend their St Margaret’s title from the past two years. The first period was scoreless and it was NA picking up where it left off and outshooting Pine Richland 10-2 in a scoreless first period. PR keeper Stoney Hildreth stopped them all for the Rams. The game remained scoreless through the 2nd period as NA held a 14-5 shot advantage into a power play. PR struck in the period’s final 13 seconds as Evan Goetz found a loose rebound after Jordan Yoklic was stopped by Tiger goaltender Max Richards from point blank range. North Allegheny tied the game early in the 3rd period on the power play at 13:45 as Matt Lancaster chipped a Paul Dittrich pass up under the crossbar to tie the score at 1-1. The game picked up pace in the third period as PR closed the gap in shots and in territorial play. With 4:49 remaining in regulation, Chris Gilson got behind the PR defense but lost his balance and a chance to take the lead. The Tigers cane right back and wouldn’t let the Rams out of the zone as Ian McGlumphy score with just 4:20 left to give NA a 2-1 lead. Richard made a point blank save on Josh Fodor with 1:13 remaining and followed that up with several more as Pine Richland pressed to tie the score. The Rams closed the gap in shots to 19-18 but NA would hold on to capture a 2-1 victory.