Montour Spartans

North Allegheny 2 Meadville 2 (OT) CRANBERRY – A Friday night in Cranberry could only mean one thing as the North Allegheny Tigers took to the ice on Senior Night to face the historic Meadville Hockey Club, who have been guided now for 20 years by Jamie Plunkett, who in my opinion when the history books are written, will go down as the finest coach in the state of Pennsylvania for the sport of ice hockey. A who’s who night of Western Pennsylvania Hockey occurred on this evening at the Cranberry BladeRunners as several of Western Pa Hockey’s personalities were in attendance as the Bulldogs (12-4-0) and Tigers (14-4-0) sparred in a February game that will have significant impact on a bye and a top 4 seed in the upcoming Class AAA playoffs. Many people ask me why I spend so much time being involved in Pa Hockey promoting a sport for a league than obviously doesn’t support my endeavors and has done everything it can not to help Pa Hockey promote its own product. Well I have news for those people and people who put disgusting personal posts on the Pa Hockey Forum about my family and myself….. long after all of the players and parents go away from this game, I will be covering Pa Hockey and doing it my own way whether anyone likes it or not. When my brothers first took to the ice in 1970 in the first Interscholastic Hockey game at the old Alpine Arena, Interscholastic Hockey has been in my blood and I have shared some great moments with many people and made some of my best friendships in this sport and it is something that no one can take away and for my friends, I share memories with them as well. So here’s some recollections of last nights combatants. Last night, like many I spend in the rink was a trip down memory lane. A chance to catch up with Brian Cole, whose family was a staple with the Richland program of the early 1970 and recount the great playoff battles between Churchill and Richland in the early to late 70’s and the story of the North Allegheny 1977 WPIHL Championship in which Bob May, the first NA coach, who was in attendance last night for Senior Night and the leader of that championship team, who fell short that year in the State Championship to my Churchill family as 30 years ago our program reached and captured a title that had eluded our program the first two years against Baldwin and Mt Lebanon. The mid to late 70’s was about the time I first met Frank Black, whose sons Jimmy, the current North Allegheny coach and Bobby, who is assisting Jimmy at NA and are following in the footsteps of their father, who provided a tremendous service to the hockey community in many aspects that people who appreciate this sport can only imagine as a coach, rink manager, administrator and visionary when hockey was in its early days at the Sewickley Arena, the Alpine, the Belmont, Kirk Nevin, Rostraver and the Arena. Coincidentally, a young guy who came along and started his coaching career with the Fox Chapel and then the Tigers by the name of Ron Steedle, who was in attendance last night and served in the Shaler program from the early 80’s until two years ago [22 years as a coach in Interscholastic hockey] and I had the very good fortune of coaching with and continue our mission collectively with our 12th year in the Keystone State Games. During the mid-1980’s is when I first met Jamie Plunkett and although I don’t recall the exact meeting, I know he was working and helping at the Allegheny College club team and I was a player-coach with Dave Keon at Bethany College. My recollections of playing a game at a rink near Allegheny College were that it was very cold and had a side missing to the building similar to the Wheeling Park rink we played our home games at. As legend would have it, a year or so later coach Plunkett got the call from the Phillis family as took the helm with the Bulldogs and that rink I played a college game in 23 years ago has become a shrine of high school hockey with the 8 State Championship Banners, the tributes to players who have left us at an early age, a meeting place for the people of the town of Meadville to watch their boys, the Bulldogs try to make another run at Pennsylvania High School glory. And it hasn’t come with out its struggles as a dry spell hit Bulldog hockey after the first seven titles in 1987, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996. Coach Plunkett, supported by his wife Sue and two daughters, continued to work toward and believe the Dawgs could reach the promised land. And by the way, they finished that building under superintendent Plunkett and built a pretty neat place effectionately known as the ‘House of Chills’. In 2003, with Mt Lebanon and Bethel Park out of the way courtesy of my former club Franklin Regional (that I spent three great years with only to give up to help build the PIHL and have returned to in the past year to rebuild tomorrow’s Panthers), the Bulldogs faced off against a bunch of kids who were part of a freshman and developmental program developed by a gentleman named Gary Swingle, who I coached with and learned a lot about life and coaching from and gave nine years to the Franklin program, which resulted in 5 trips to the Penguins Cup finals that fell short. I took a lot of ribbing from coach Plunkett and the Bulldog faithful at the time about wearing a Franklin jersey to broadcast the game as the Meadville hat provided by Doug Nickerson, whose son Christian I coached in Keystones earlier that year, disappeared in the overflow crowd at RMU Island Sports Center. The Dawgs dispatched a very talented Franklin team that knocked off Bethel and Lebo and moved on to the State Finals against one of the most talented teams ever to play for a State Championship in Malvern Prep. Malvern was a team with no less than 5 current NCAA Division 1 hockey players played the Dawgs, but coach Plunkett’s team lead by Christian Nickerson completed the dream ride for the Meadville Hockey nation at Ice Line 5-4 in as thrilling of a hockey game as I’ve seen in 36 years. My fondest memory was of Jamie telling me he never thought he’d see it again with a tear in his eye and with his great family by his side on the ice. So here we are in 2007 and the man who drives the Bulldog Hockey program continues the strive for excellence. And trust me, when the Dawgs take the ice, people pay attention as 5 time Pennsylvania Champions Bethel Park coach Jim McVay [who has deservingly been selected to guide 2007 Team Pittsburgh] was in attendance to scout two potential playoff opponents in March, who will try to defeat Bethel Park, who has defeated both Meadville and North Allegheny. The interesting revelation is that when Jamie Plunkett coached his first season at Meadville, Jim McVay was playing on an Upper St Clair club that compled the 2nd perfect season in Pennsylvania Class AAA 4-3 over Malvern Prep, only two years after Conestoga, who was coached by former Upper St Clair coach Taylor Railton, did it in 1985. Plunkett’s Meadville teams completed that feat against Pennsylvania competition no less than five times during the late 80’s and 90’s. So while coach Plunkett coached game # 1000 earlier this season, Jimmy Black has been trying to start a tradition at North Allegheny after leading Pine Richland to the Class AA Pennsylvania title a year ago. The North Allegheny program has long been a successful one, but is looking to put it over the top with a State Championship and its choice of Jimmy Black, Bobby Black and Rich Conlon (a former State Championship player with South Hills Catholic) is a very good one as the Tigers are well on their way to continuing the process of moving toward their 3rd consecutive Penguins Cup final appearance. The Tigers have been Class AAA’s hottest club and have not lost a game on the ice in the regular season since early December. Wes Waldschmidt, whose brothers Billy and Garrett, were strong players for the Tiger program and younger brother Brady is also a member of this years Tigers, has been the catalyst of the NA surge over the past month. And as the NA Hockey Club honored Wes and the other five seniors and in a touch of true sportsmanship, the senior members of the Meadville Bulldogs, one had to wonder what effect this game would have as both clubs are pointing to March and the Class AAA playoffs. The opening period of this contest was a typical North Allegheny – Meadville matchup with tight checking and good action at both ends as both goaltenders Max Richards of NA and Mike Licinski of Meadville were sharp in the early going. North Allegheny carried an advantage in play due to a couple of power plays, but Meadville played strong in their own end limited the Tigers chances. Two giveaways in the defensive zone led to the games opening scores as North Allegheny’s Josh Herbert picked off a clearing attempt and beat Licniski through the 5-hole at 3:38 for a 1-0 lead. It was shortlived as Pat Leone returned the favor with 3:15 to go beating Richards on a wrist shot high to the stick side to knot the score 1-1. North Alllegheny has opportunity after opportunity in the second period with three consecutive power plays at 11:46, 7:37 and 5:31 of the middle period, but Meadville killed all of those penalties and built some significant momentum in the process. Coach Plunkett called a timeout prior to the third penalty and maybe to rest his troops or calm the down or possibly to break NA’s momentum. In any event, it worked and it was almost prophetic as Morgan Nickerson stole the puck at just missed on the back hand at 4:39 and Alex Drelick breakaway attempt was stopped by Max Richards. This game was like a playoff game as the drama built and both teams worked feverously to gain an advantage and the go ahead goal. Meadville would take the lead in this hockey game as Mike Noonan would not be denied poking the loose puck on the doorstep past Max Richards with 7:14 to play. The Tigers had a chance to tie the game immediately following the Dawg goal on another power play, but again Meadville stiffened and held a slim 2-1 lead. Meadville continued to bottle up the Tigers in their own end with excellent forechecking and pressure. The game hit the final minute and a terrific outlet pass to senior Danny Gaertner by the Tiger defense created an odd man break and Gaertner beat the Bulldog defenseman and lofted a shot toward Mike Licinski and defenseman Tyson Stupy was there to pounce on the rebound and beat the Meadville goaltender with just 21 seconds left to tie the score 2-2 with just 21 seconds remaining. The teams battled on through overtime, the best chance coming off the stick of NA’s Donnie Lewis, that just trickled wide of the net after Mike Licinski made the save. The game ended in a 2-2 tie and as both teams appear ready to challenge for the Class AAA title to be decided a month from now and could face each other again in the 2007 Penguins Cup playoffs, The night didn’t end with the game as Plum and Seneca Valley faced off and some more hockey memories flourished. An opportunity through Frankie Valli and at least one of the 4 Spartans, Garry to meet W & J Head Coach and former Pittsburgh Penguin Peter Taglianetti ensued in the lobby and a chance to thank him for an accomplishment that 16 years later still warms all of our hearts when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992. At this time we really don’t know the future of the Pens, but we all reflected our hope that Mario is able to have a new arena for Pittsburgh, Sidney, Geno, Marc-Andre and the boys can fill our kids memories of Stanley Cups in the coming years and Pa Hockey can continue to bring memories alive for families, players and coaches for years to come!

Delmont - Franklin Regional 3 Greensburg Salem 3 (OT) When you get to this point in the season, for the teams that have clinched playoff spots, its all about positioning. With Greensburg Salem’s (11-7-0) division title hopes dashed by a paperwork snafu and a forfeit of two games, the Golden Lions are now setting their sights on wrapping up a playoff position the old fashioned way of earning it and Head Coach Anthony DeFazio would like it no other way. You see, Salem played a lot of hockey over the past five years including a majority of their play in the Laurel Highlands League with dicey drives to Altoona and over the Laurel Mountains that resulted in players and families getting home well after midnight to play in a league that really ended their season in a meaningless way and not in the Pennsylvania State Hockey Championships or Penguins Cup. The Golden Lions the opted for the Open Division, which is a manufactured league of teams playing hockey for medals that look like the were stolen from Chuck E Cheese’s pinball gallery. Salem was handed a spot in the Class AA playoffs a year ago and lost in a playoff game against Moon and went home. Coach DeFazio and the Greensburg Salem Hockey Club has taken their medicine and with a win tonight against division foe Franklin Regional could wrap up a playoff spot by earning it for the first time since 1999, when Larry Weimert’s team completed a miraculous second half of the season turnaround to sneak into a playoff spot edging out Franklin Regional by one point. Franklin Regional has already has clinched a playoff spot and coincidentally has been playing in Class AAA since Salem last was in the playoffs in 1999 and was really a second tier AAA program with the exception of 2003 when FR went all the way to the Penguins Cup finals beating AAA powers Mt Lebanon and Bethel Park before their magic carpet ride was ended abruptly by Meadville in the Penguins Cup final. With a program diminishing in numbers and frankly in trouble of becoming non-existent, the Panthers enrollment numbers for the school dipped below the Class AAA Mendoza line opting Franklin back to Class AA. So the Panthers, who have been under the radar with the run of Pine Richland in Class AA and the emergence of Moon and Latrobe and re-emergence of Thomas Jefferson, are trying to catch one of those schools and capture a first round bye in the top 4. The FR lineup is back to the now you see him now you don’t phase with players missing for those all important Kool-Aid practice sessions when amateur coaches threaten bench time for players who miss for high school games and it’s really getting old at this point as Junior C teams and midget AAA teams who are not even ranked in the top 40 in the country are performing this function. In the end, Franklin will need to win three out of their last four games or start the playoffs at home as a 5th-7th seed and face a very good goaltender and likely an upset instead of a bye and become a darkhorse for the 2007 Penguins Cup. Franklin came out storming in the opening period and controlled the play from the outset outshooting GS 10-2 with one power play opportunity but no scores as Lion goaltender Shane Talarico was flawless. Greensburg Salem had two power plays of their own in the final six minutes and although unsuccessful on the first one at 1:21 of the opening period shifty Shane Davis beat two FR defenders and whipped a wrist shot past Anthony Livecchi to give Salem a 1-0 lead. The Golden Lions almost made it two zip, but Carl Richter made a nice play to clear the zone and draw a penalty in the process to turn the tide and the momentum late in the opening period. A series of penalties and makeup calls were prevalent in the early part of the second period and Hank Fontana found open ice on a 3 on 3 situation and was in on the breakaway at 13:49 only to be stopped by Livecchi. Greensburg had a golden opportunity on a 5 on 3 power play but it was Franklin who was the aggressor and killed the first penalty and force a turnover a nice play by Eugene Mack, who found a wide open freshman Steven Shirk, who deposited the puck into a wide open net to tie the score at one apiece with 7:02 remaining in the second period. The Panthers started to find their rhythm and with 2:37 left in the period Turner Andritz made a great play to keep the puck in the zone and fire it to the net and the shot hit freshman Johnny ‘63’ Miller and the young Franklin forward has easy pickins and an open net for a goal and a 2-1 Panther lead. The game picked up pace late in the period as Eric Yurenko had a breakaway only to be stopped by an acrbatic save as Anthony Livechhi sprawled out like Dominic Hasek to stack his pads and snag a shot ticketed for the upper half the net and stone the GS sniper to keep FR in the lead 2-1. The Panthers struck late in the period as Ryan Kramer spotted another freshman defenseman Michael Adams and threaded a perfect pass from the opposite corner to the right faceoff circle and Adams unleashed a wicked slapshot to the stick side of Shane Talarico and into the net with :05 to go and give Franklin Regional a 3-1 lead at the ice cut. Franklin Regional was well on their way to victory, but had the most dangerous lead in hockey of two goals. Greensburg Salem was pretty lifeless and looked to be headed into its final games with West Allegheny and Thomas Jefferson in a possible must win situation. Sometimes you need a little luck in games like this and with all of the struggles in the long road back for the Greensburg Salem Hockey Club and a real heads-up play by an unlikely source as David Hamilton got the puck in the corner and just threw an attempted pass to the front of the Franklin net and it caromed of a Panther defender through the 5-hole of Livecchi with 5:13 to go in regulation to give the Golden Lions new life and now a 3-2 hockey game. Salem now had momentum and with their top line on the ice and well rested Franklin was now on its heels and GS took advantage as Hank Fontana found a loose puck after a scramble in the right circle and buried it up under the crossbar to tie the score at 3-3 with 4:45 to go and we had a brand new hockey game. The Golden Lions almost won it as Shane Davis shot with :01 was turned aside by Anthony Livecchi and as the teams battled through overtime for a 3-3 tie.

Due to the extreme and Egg-scrutiating cold temperatures this week caused by Mr Freeze, a lot of games in Western Pa were postponed. As soon as the games are re-scheduled [and if they are], we will try to keep you abreast of the situation. Below are the games that were postponed at Class A,AA,AAA and Open. If you find out please let us know,wso we can correct our schedule ! UPDATED 2/25/07 ~ ALL GAMES HAVE BEEN RE-SCHEDULED EXCEPT: A 2/13/2007 Tue WM 7:30 Westmont Hilltop Center A Open 2/23/2007 Fri CI 6:30 Derry Johnstown Open

North Allegheny 5 Central Catholic 1 CRANBERRY – North Allegheny’s (13-4-0) Hockey Program has made some significant strides over the past few years and was coached by current Central Catholic Head Coach Tom Pandolfo, who was responsible for two seasons that the Tigers advanced all the way to the Penguins Cup finals. When Pandolfo left the program prior to the end of last season, there was quite a bit of controversy as to why a coach with the success would walk away and the reasons after spending a lot of time with the coach were his own and no longer need to be discussed. So the Tiger program was left as it has been for several times in its history with a coaching search, which resulted in the netting of Jimmy Black, who led Pine Richland to their first ever State Championship last year in Class AA. NA has been adjusting to a very different coaching style and although it is not my job to pick and choose who’s style is better or who is more successful as the history books and Penguins Cups and State Championships will dictate. To date North Allegheny has NONE and the goal is still the same under Jimmy Black. Central Catholic (13-2-0) went to the free agent wire to find a new coach for its program decided Tom Pandolfo was a good fit for their program. And after 15 games of his tenure, it looks to be a pretty good move as the Vikings are in the hunt for the Penguins Cup in his first year. Admittedly, coach Pandolfo will tell you that taking the Viking helm has been quite a learning experience for him and an adjustment for both he and his staff as well as the players. Central’s roadblock, as well as the other Class AAA schools is Bethel Park, who are alone at the top of the league and have meet some challenge, but look to be the unanimous favorite. The Vikings and Tigers will have some company in that chase as February starts the downhill toward the playoffs, as defending champions Mt Lebanon, Meadville and more recently Upper St Clair and McDowell have thrown their hats in the ring as challengers, which is a stretch at this point because of the Bethel dominance, who has held down the # 1 ranking since the early weeks of the season. An all important seeding match-up tonight as Central Catholic is looking to atone for an 8-4 beating at the hands of NA on December 18th at the Harmarville BladeRunners. The opening half of the opening period was pretty uneventful until at 6:42 of the first Central was whistled for a penalty. It only took NA 11 seconds to capitalize as Josh Herbert scored on a rebound into a pretty open net at 6:31 to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. NA had another power play at 5:13 and goaltender John Scalo made a nice stop on Wes Waldschmidt from the slot at 3:45 to keep the score 1-0. North Allegheny nearly had a two goal advantage as Wes Waldschmidt’s shot just missed at 14:43. At 12:53, a CC penalty was nearly disaster but John Scalo made several nice stops to keep the Vikings within one. A time out by Pandolfo to school his troops about their play at 10:23, but Central continued to be outdisciplined by North Allegheny in the second period as the Vikings were whistled again at 7:40. Central Catholic continued to kill the penalty, but the Tigers finally capitalized as Wes Waldschmidt took the game into his own hands and scored on an overpowering wrist shot with 5:31 remaining in the middle period and only :01 left on the penalty. Moments later at 4:34, Doug Dietrich had CC’s best chance of the period, but Max Richards made a key save. In the process, the Tigers took a very undisciplined penalty putting the Vikings on the power play. Central finally got on the board as C.J. Burke converted a tremendous pass from Josh Martin to cut the lead to 2-1 with 2:05 left in the 2nd period. On to the third period and Central was now in the hockey game and had a chance on the power play at 11:51, but the Tigers stiffened and killed it off impressively building momentum in the process. After the penalty kill, CC got caught on an odd man break which resulted in a 3 on 1 and Brady Waldschmidt pounced on a Josh Herbert rebound for a huge goal at 9:26 and a 3-1 lead for the Tigers. North Alleghny’s Wes Waldschmidt would close the door on Central as he made a terrific move in traffic and beat Scalo to the short side on the post with 4:34 to go to make the lead 4-1 and Brett Schindler put the icing on a North Allegheny sweep of the Vikings 5-1 and a very important seeding game which could result in home ice and a bye for the Tigers in the upcoming playoffs.

Now as everyone knows Pa Hockey is the noted historian of Western Pa Hockey, Eastern Pa Hockey and now doing duties Nationwide through the 'Wall of Champions' that tracks State Championship results from 44 states across the United States. With all of that on the plate, we also track the Division Champions of Western Pa Hockey and have so since Interscholastic Hockey began here in Western Pa in 1971. If you'll take a gander at the records attached, we have the Division Championships of every school from the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League, South Hills Interscholastic Hockey League and Lake Shore Hockey League prior to 1999, when the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League was formed. You can also find alot of the detail of your respective schools championships on Pa Hockey History at www.pahockey.org and in the Pa Hockey Yearbook, which will hit the streets soon ! Since our friends the Villans are busy with other activities other than handing out Division Championship Trophies, which are NOT given to the teams when they happen. We thought we'd give our 3000 visitors a week a heads up as to when this occurs. I hope thats not bashing our friends too much, cause they're a little sensitive about the subject. We would like to congratulate the following schools for capturing their respective division titles: Class AAA Bethel Park Blackhawks - For 6 out of the last 8 seasons, the South Division title has resided in Bethel Park and resulted in 4 Pennsylvania State Class AAA Championships under Jim McVay. The measuring stick for Class AAA hockey in Pennsylvania is now Bethel Park ! Plum Mustangs ~ For the first time since 2002, Plum EARNS a Division Title and will do so with a sub .500 record. Congrats to the Mustangs ! North Allegheny Tigers ~ NA captures a division title for the 3rd consecutive year and their 5th in the past 8 years. Congrats to Jimmy Black and the Tigers! McDowell Trojans ~ McDowell captured the Lake Shore Hockey League title 7 consecutive years from 1974 through 1980 and in 2007 captures their first division title in 27 years edging out rival Meadville. Congratulations to Head Coach Nels White and the Trojans. Class AA Pine Richland Rams - Pine Richland wins their 3rd consectuive North title and 6th division title in 8 years and is set to defend their Pa State AA championship. Congrats to Bobby Kennedy and the Rams ! Thomas Jefferson Jaguars - Thomas Jefferson wins its 3rd South Division crown under the Dean of Class AA Don Powell. We would like to extend our congrats to the Jaguars ! Latrobe Wildcats - Latrobe wins their first division title since 2002 and that was under current Head Coach Ron Makoski as well. Moon Tigers - The Tigers win their first division title since 1977 in the WPIHL by edging Montour. Congratulations to Craig Bioni and the Moon Hockey Club for ending a 30 year drought ! Class A Quaker Valley Quakers - The Quakers have won their 6th consecutive West Division crown under Kevin Quinn and are set to defend their Class A State Crown Conemaugh Valley Blue Jays - After 7 consecutive East Division Titles, Bishop McCort's reign ends, but only because they were moved to the North Division. Conemaugh Valley captures their first ever division championship Congrats to the Blue Jays ! Freeport Yellow Jackets - Freeport wins their first ever Division title by edging out Bishop McCort. Congratulations to Head Coach Dave Hepler and the Yellow Jackets ! Mars Planets - Mars wins their 4th Division title in 8 years in Class A. Congratulations to Eric Glover and the Planets ! Open Division State College Icers - East Division Champions Hempfield Spartans - North Division Champions Quigley Spartans - West Division Champions Wheeling Park Patriots - South Division Champions