Montour Spartans

Montour 5 West Allegheny 1 CORAOPOLIS – Montour has involved in a lot of close one goal games over the past month including narrow losses to Canevin and Peters Twp. Head Coach Dan Siegel knows the rigors of the playoffs and will admit I am sure that the Spartans must overcome this to become a contender for this year’s Penguins Cup. With a 13-3-0 record, Team Montour sits in 3rd position in the seedings in a battle with the aforementioned Peters Twp and Canevin for a very important bye and home playoff berth. Having said all of this there will be a fundamental decision, which will have to be made for the playoffs about the goaltending rotation or lack thereof as I believe that starting freshman Matt Skoff, who I consider the ‘Next One’ for every playoff game will give the Spartans a chance for a long playoff run and combined with the better play of the team, they can avoid the situation that presented itself a year ago when Char Valley bounced the also third seeded Spartans from the Class AA playoffs. West Allegheny knows all about getting bounced from the playoffs a year ago as an Elizabeth Forward team that lost to them 8-1 came back and upset the Indians in round one. Coach Norm Cook’s club is 17-0-0 entering this game and talk about Penguins Cups and playoff runs is dancing through many people’s heads in West Allegheny. The Indians have balance on offense and possess a mixture of veteran players and youth that will make opposing coaches heads spin. Kyle Mortimer has been outstanding in between the pipes and will be a key to any playoff run. The Indians are working on capturing the # 1 seed and any losses or two heading into the schedule ahead which includes Montour, Peters Township and Pine Richland, could vault WA out of the top spot. Before a packed house at the Airport Ice Arena the teams took the ice with an air of electricity as students, fans, parent and bystanders of the ‘Concerned Citizens of West Allegheny’ and the always ‘Concerned Citizens of Montour’ less Frankie Vallie and the four Spartans, who anxiously awaited Limo Service, but not from Canevin’s Kenny Vance, who was at Mt Lebanon. The opening period started with a torrid pace from the outset and the Spartans struck first at 13:56 as Josh York took a cross ice pass from Zach Perry and buried it high over the glove hand side of Mortimer for a 1-0 lead for Team Montour. At 7:26, Ryne Savisky stripped the puck from the Spartan defense and was stopped on a great save by Matt Skoff. The freshman goaltender continued to keep the Indians off the board and made an unreal save on Tony Lutz, who had a wide open net but Skoff was able to extend and glove a potential tying goal and keep Montour on top 1-0 after one period. The Spartans started period two on the power play, but West Allegheny had a great chance to tie it as Tony Lutz was in on the breakaway at the 14 minute mark but Skoff challenged him and Lutz just missed. As things would go the Spartans way less than a minute later, Keith Kurelis intercepted a bad clearing attempt and found the open net past Mortimer at 13:04 high to the glove side and all the sudden Team Montour was up 2-0. The Spartans sensed a wounded animal and Zach Perry went for the jugular at 12:19, when Mortimer made a real nice save and the puck glanced off the post keeping the WA deficit at two and this could have been a key turning point as Montour took an undisciplined penalty after the whistle. The Spartans killed off that West A power play and the third time was a charm for Perry, as at 8:09 he walked out of the corner and fired a slap shot past the Indian goaltender erupting the Montour faithful and chasing Mortimer in favor of freshman Phil Sweet. The Indians stepped up their game late in the second period at finally was able to get on the board on the power play as Steve Sarachene would not be denied getting his own rebound and beating Skoff with 3:32 left to cut the Montour to 3-1. West Allegheny had plenty of time to go in this game and the firepower to come back in the third period, but Zach Perry sucked the wind out of any comeback aspirations as he took the opening faceoff and from just inside the blue line blasted a slapshot high to the stick side past Phil Sweet to make it 4-1 with 14:43 left in regulation. The Indians freshman goaltender foiled Perry’s hat trick bid on a breakaway at 12:42. Montour was able to play solid defense the rest of the way and Paul Ciotti capped it off with an empty netter with 23 seconds remaining to earn a thrilling 5-1 victory and knock West Allegheny from the ranks of the undefeated.

Canon McMillan 5 South Park 3 CASTLE SHANNON - Canon McMillan entered this week with a 7-5-3 mark holding down the # 8 slot tied with Indiana. For coach Dave ‘a/k/a the Boy Wonder’ Fryer, it has been an interesting campaign, especially wince the Big Macs captured the # 1 seed a year ago. Canon Mac will have to win some big games down the stretch to secure home ice in the opening as earning a bye in the opening round may be a stretch. South Park, on the other hand, is fighting for their playoff lives and after a 1-7-0 start head coach Ray Sabitini has to like the way his club is playing, posting a 3-1-1 maek since the first half break. The Eagles have playoff tradition with 16 straight playoff appearances dating back to 1990, reaching the Penguins Cup only once in 1995 losing to Bishop McCort in Class A. SP currently holds down the 12th and final spot in a battle with Latrobe and Moon. Canon McMillan opened up a 2-1 lead in the first period on goals by Jesse Patnesky 45 seconds in the game. South Park’s tied the score at one apiece at 10:53 as Chris Ondek scored on a long shot for a shorthanded tally. The Big Macs regained the lead with 6:34 left in the opening period as Erik McKown gave his team a 2-1 lead. Shane Bickar continued to keep the Eagles in the game stopping all 9 shots in the middle period and the CM lead to 2-1. Matt Nichol scored a beautiful goal with a wrist shot over the glove side of Mike O’Neill with 3:55 remaining in the 2nd to knot the score at two apiece. At 13:27 of the third period, Justin Cormack scored as he picked up his own rebound off the boards and deposited it past Shane Bickar. Matt Nichol tied the score with 8:53 on a rebound goal to make it 3-3. The Eagles took a penalty with 4:55 to go and opened the door for a Canon McMillan power play, which reaped benefits as Josh Tohey found Jesse Patnesky on the back door who beat Shane Bickar to the far post and gave CM a 4-3 lead with 3 ½ to go in regulation. Justin Cormack scored a huge insurance goal with 1:19 to go intercepted a SP clearing pass and lofted a wrist shot through the 5-hole of Bickar to make it 5-3 and lock down a big win for Robin the Boy Wonder’s Concerned Citizens of Canon Mac.

Upper St Clair 3 Plum 1 CASTLE SHANNON – Plum has struggled this season with loss to graduation and lack of numbers to replace the key components after a very good 2004- 2005 campaign. The Mustangs need to gain every point possible to possibly grab the 12th and final playoff spot in March. Plum has earned a playoff berth 8 out of the past ten seasons including the 1997 and 1998 seasons when Head Coach Sean Keller and a fellow by the name of R.J. Umberger donned the Purple, Gold and White before moving onto Ohio State and now plays for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League. The club will retire Umberger’s jersey toward the end of this season as R.J. will come back to see his alma mater play, which may be an inspiration to the young Mustangs. Upper St Clair has the only other player in the National Hockey League from Western Pennsylvania in Ryan Malone who plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins who has his number 12 retired and now hangs at the Ice Castle. For the Panthers, there is another number that is in front of them, which will place the USC program # 1 in Regular Season and Western Pennsylvania playoff wins as the first program to reach 500 wins. USC currently stands at 498 and with a win against Plum and Butler next week will be the 1st program to accomplish this feat. Kittanning at 496 wins is running a close second, but it appears the Panthers, who started play in 1971 at the Alpine Ice Chalet will do it. After a scoreless opening period, USC opened the scoring as Tucker Green scored on a partial break with 12:28. Back came the Mustangs at 11:40 to tie the game as Matt Giunta ??? scored picking up a loose puck in front and beat Kevin Gorder with 11 ½ left . The Panthers went on the power play at the midway point of the 2nd period and Davey Crockett won the faceoff and scored on his own rebound at 6:51, beating John Bronder on a rebound to give St Clair a 2-1 lead. Just 32 seconds later, the Panthers scored again as Jono Lohman beat Bronder high over the glove hand side to make it 3-1. The third period began and after fear of no backup power of the Bat Computer and the Bat Phone, it was Ralph and not Alf, but the Terminator to the rescue with an extension cord to keep our Game Summary rolling on. Upper St Clair maintained the pressure in the third period, keeping the puck in the Mustangs end trying to score and put the game on ice. The Panthers were able to kill the clock and pick up win # 499 setting up an opportunity next Monday night on Senior Recognition night to win the 500th game in Upper St Clair history.

Quaker Valley 5 Bishop McCort 0 Coraopolis – Landscape of Class A hockey in Western Pennsylvania is so predictable due to the haves and have not’s that anyone who believes two of threesome of Serra Catholic, Quaker Valley and defending State Finalist Bishop McCort are not going to play for the Class A Penguins Cup on March 25th should have their head examined. With the Crimson Crushers and Serra dominating the Class A circuit winning 9 out of the last 11 Championships, there is no question both teams intend to be there. Quaker Valley has been knocking at the door the past few seasons and has displayed the depth necessary to win it all, but coach Kevin Quinn’s teams have fallen short, but this year has been different as the Quakers are on a mission. McCort features a balanced attack with three strong lines and good team defense and goaltending, while QV has a few marquee players to compliment a scrappy group of seasoned players along with the goaltending of Zac Zinger, who has come a long way since last season. A very important seeding game, especially for McCort as both teams are tied in the loss column with Serra with one setting up the February match-ups amongst all three # 1 seed contenders, which will ultimately decide who will have a clear path to the 2006 Penguins Cup finals. So before a packed house at the Airport Ice Arena Bishop McCort and Quaker Valley locked horns. The Quakers opened the scoring early in the 1st period as George Jackson scored to give QV a 1-0 lead. At 3:16 of the opening period, after some hard work by Tim Hall, the speedy winger found the loose puck in a McCort defenders feet, plucked it and found a wide open Colin South, who made no mistake firing a snapshot low on the glove side of Brent Troyan for a 1-0 Quaker Valley lead. Things got worse before they got better for the Crimson Crushers as they took two late penalties in the opening period giving QV a 5 on 3 advantage for over a minute. At 14:12 of the second, the Quakers made them pay for taking penalties as Colin South buried another shot from the right faceoff circle past Troyan to make the count 3-0. McCort had their 1st chance on the power play at 11:37, but did not mount much pressure on Zac Zinger and took a penalty, putting the Quakers back on the power play. With 11 ½ left in the 2nd , which BM killed. The Crushers had a golden opportunity to get back in the game at 9:35 as QV was whistled with a double minor. Colin South had a great chance to score the hat trick at 6:46 shorthanded, but Troyan made a real nice save to keep his team in the game. McCort started to build momentum of the power play and the Troyan save and got yet another chance on the power play at 5:39 and QV still leading 3-0. Then the backbreaker came at 4:30 as Tim Hall stole the puck and scored shorthanded to give the Quakers a 4-0 advantage. Another McCort power play at 3:46 and Zac Zinger made the save at 3:32 on the rebound on a shot that went off the post and fell right into his glove. The Crimson Crushers lost their composure and took a bad penalty and Mikail Lemieux made them pay beating Troyan through the 5-hole to make it 5-0. The third period was pretty much a white wash as McCort looked defeated and Quaker Valley was looking to kill time off the clock, protect Zac Zinger’s shutout and collect their victory and a big win in the seeding position heading to February. The Quakers would hold on as planned for a 5-0 victory moving them in a tie with Serra with only one loss and setting up a winner take all game on Monday February 13th.

As we draw closer to the Penguins Cup playoffs, its great to recognize the accomplishments of some outstanding hockey programs and their rich history. Winning a division title is the first step to moving on and challenging for the Penguins Cup and the ultimate Interscholastic Hockey prize, a State Championship at Class AAA, AA & A. So while our villan friends are busy with schedule changes mounting in the hundreds and too busy to even think about let alone send one of their people to present the Division Championship trophies as they happen. Good Ole Pa Hockey is here to keep track of these items, which are very important accomplishments. CLASS A Bishop McCort Crimson Crushers clinched 7th PIHL Division title in a row [in 7 years] & 12th in 13 years overall including play in the WPIHL dating back to 1994. One of Western Pennsylvania's top programs and always a contender for the Penguins Cup and State Championship. Congratulations to Head Coach John Bradley and Bishop McCort ! Quaker Valley clinched their 5th consecutive Division title in a row and is once again looking to advance to their first Penguins Cup Championship. Congratulations to Head Coach Kevin Quinn and the Quaker Valley Quakers. Serra Catholic clinched their 7th Division Title in as many years and looks to recapture the Penguins Cup that eluded them a year ago. Congratulations to the Serra Catholic Eagles ! Westmont Hilltop captured their 2nd consecutive Division title and we would like to congratulate 'King' Arthur McQuillan and the Mighty Hilltoppers on their championship ! CLASS AA Pine Richland Rams win 9th Division Crown in 12 years of PIHL/WPIHL play including 5 out of the past 7 years of PIHL play. This program dates back to 1972 and won three straight division titles three different times [1973-1975 AAA + 1995-1997 A + 1999-2002 with 4 in a row] and picked up their 2nd consecutive in a new streak. Congratulations to coach Jimmy Black and Pine Richland ! West Allegheny notched its first division title since 1996 under the direction of Norm Cook and we would like to congratulate the West Allegheny Indians on their Division title. Kittanning netted its 3rd division championship in 4 years and 12th overall in its history in a tight race down to the final week of the season. Congratulations to Jon Yackmack and the Wildcats ! Canon McMillan wrapped up their second consecutive division title on the final day of the regular season and we would like to congratulate the 'Boy Wonder' Dave Fryer, the Big Macs team and the always 'Concerned Citizens of Canon McMillan' CLASS AAA Mt Lebanon clinched their 2nd Division title in 3 years and has been Western Pennsylvania's best team in the 2005-2006 season at any level and is Western Pa's only undefeated teams with a remarkable 12 shutouts this season. Congratulations to Head Coach Paul Taibi and the Mt Lebanon Blue Devils Meadville clinched 4th Division title in the past 5 years and looks to return to the Penguins Cup for the first time since 2004. Head Coach Jamie Plunkett captured his 700th coaching victory in 20 seasons at the helm. Congratulations to Head Coach Jamie Plunkett and the Meadville Bulldogs. Penn Trafford captured their 3rd consecutive Division title in 2005-06 and looks to advance into the Final 4 in the Penguins Cup for the first time. Congratulations to Head Coach Todd Purvis and the Penn Trafford Warriors. North Allegheny captured their 2nd consecutive Division title under the direction of Head Coach Tom Pandolfo and looks to return to the Penguins Cup. Congratulations to the North Allegheny Tigers ! OPEN DIVISION Carrick won the Open Division South Crown this season and we would like to congratulate Head Coach Chris Chusiano and Carrick on their accomplishment ! Wheeling Park captured the Open Division West title and we would like to congratulate Head Coach Jim Tecca and the Wheeling Park Patriots ! State College clinched its first division crown since joining the PIHL and we would like to congratulate the Icers on winning the Open East title. Kiski captured its first ever division title in 2006 and congrats go out to coach Jeff Horvath and the Cavaliers The following schools have clinched playoff berths in the upcoming Penguins Cup playoffs: Class AAA MT LEBANON - NORTH ALLEGHENY - MEADVILLE - BETHEL PARK - PENN-TRAFFORD - UPPER ST CLAIR - FOX CHAPEL - CENTRAL CATHOLIC - FRANKLIN REGIONAL - MCDOWELL - NORTH HILLS Class AA WEST ALLEGHENY - PINE-RICHLAND - MONTOUR - PETERS TOWNSHIP - CANEVIN - GREENSBURG C C - THOMAS JEFFERSON - KITTANNING - CANON MCMILLAN - LATROBE - MOON Class A QUAKER VALLEY - SERRA CATHOLIC - BISHOP MCCORT - SEWICKLEY ACADEMY - FREEPORT - MARS - WESTMONT HILLTOP - FOREST HILLS