Seneca Valley Raiders

KITTANNING ~ As the big Blue Jeep pulled up to the Belmont Ice Complex a little over a half an hour before last nights Indiana – Kittanning playoff game….the reaction was …..to put it lightly…..look at this ! While the Belmont holds nearly 1200, there were infinitely more than that in the building as a crowd of an estimated 1400-1500 showed up for the ‘Route 422’ rivalry between the Wildcats and the Indians. To find a parking space was a rarity as my partner in crime Ron Steedle and I pulled into a nice muddy creek bed to get the Jeep nice and dirty, so when Western Pennsylvania wins its 8th consecutive Pennsylvania Class AA State Championship, I can watch Breakaway’s Jeff Nolan wash it wearing the jersey of the Western Pa team……….and if its Kittanning that happens to do it we’ll all convene back in the parking lot of the Belmont. Stay tuned for details on that wager! And it was Miss Jane’s ‘Romper Room’ night as the who’s who were out in full force as the Thomas Jefferson coaching staff of Don Powell, John Fedorek, Tom Pandolfo and Mark Heinauer, joined GCC’s Joe Dytka and film crew to scout the game with Ole’s regulars Max & Tim [14:60 Forever!], Jimmo Greenbaum, Larry Montebell, Ed ‘Jake’ Jacobs, long time Kittanning/Armstrong Central coach Joe Ritchey, coach former Armstrong Central stud Jon Yackmack [who led the last trip to the State Finals out of the Belmont] and recent Indiana stud Casey Haines [who is now entertaining Junior A offers amazingly as just a sophomore in high school….I guess he won’t need to play for our recently aforementioned midget AAA team, who denies kids an opportunity for State Playoff glory in exchange for practice]. I am sure Indiana coach Dom Glavech would have loved to have put Casey Haines in the lineup last night to help his struggling offense find the net, but Casey donned a red Indiana jersey to participate with the 2003 version of the ‘Hockey Hooligans’, who were dwarfed by the town of Kittanning, who showed up to root for the home team. As the national anthem was sung, it was great to hear people actually singing along with the young lady from Kittanning H.S., which is something missing from the ‘Suburbanite’ society we live in today and gave me goosebumps. This is probably why some of us really enjoy attending hockey games at places like the Belmont or Meadville or Johnstown or Indiana or Erie, where the community really support the hockey programs and turn out in droves to watch them play [Personally, Mr Steedle and I get to double my pleasure coaching the kids in the Keystone State (MIDGETS) games, now in the 7th year]. Indiana reached the Penguin Cup Finals last season for the second time in their history and did so by defeating Kittanning 6-0 at Rostraver. The Indians then missed a golden opportunity to advance to the State Finals falling short in its comeback 3-2 to eventual champion Peters Twp. Kittanning, on the other hand, vowed after the Indiana loss to return to the big dance and coach Jeff Smouse really wanted to play Indiana along the way to prove that his team is ready to take that next step toward West Chester. To do it, the Wildcats will need great goaltending from Adam Toy to steal a couple along the way, in the tradition of great Armstrong/Kittanning goaltenders like Eric ‘Zip’ Zimmerman or Brett Frederick or more recently Aaron Stanley, who have excelled in playoff competition. As the opening faceoff approached, you couldn’t help notice the loose attitude of Indiana and the nervous look on the faces of the California bleached Kittanning Wildcats. In fact, rumors has it if Kittanning advances to Neville Island for the Penguins Cup….that Max and Tim will get a bleach-job [I’d love to see that one]. Indiana wasted no time from the opening faceoff as Dane Bertinazzi who shot one down low, which Toy had to be sharp on as he just got his skate on and deflected into the corner at 14:14. The Indians came right back and struck first as Bryan Schlemmer bang home a rebound at 11:33 for a 1-0 lead. Indiana was all over Kittanning, outshooting them 16-5 in the opening period as Toy came up big on Zach Diamond at 11:14. Luke Heller almost tied the game at 10:10, but Mike Mentsch turn it aside. The Indians had a golden opportunity to take a two goal advantage on a power play with 3:24 remaining, but got whistled for a lazy tripping call in the offensive zone just 21 seconds into the man advantage, which was a huge mental mistake and testimony of the emotions of the opening period. So Kittanning dodged a big bullet and took advantage right off the bat in the second period as Eddie Germy made a heads up play finding Luke Heller, who snapped a shot inside the post to tie the game at 14:30 at one apiece. At this point, Indiana went back to work and continued pressuring the Wildcats but Adam Toy continued to sparkle as he stopped Jayson Vaughn at 10:36 and made a sliding save on Bertinazzi at 6:06. A simple series of two little plays may have changed the complexion of this hockey game as twice Kittanning defenseman Patrick Schneider was able to clear the zone after considerable Indiana pressure and gain some territorial ice for Kittanning towards the end of the 2nd period. The results of that play and a little laziness by the Indiana backline would be a huge break for the Wildcats, as super sophomore Eddie Germy kick the puck out in front to linemate Joel Shriver, who banged it home and gave Kittanning its first lead 2-1 with 2:30 left. Indiana almost tied in on the ensuing faceoff as Aaron Smith had a partial break but shot high over Toy. The Wildcats went on the power play and won the faceoff back to Michael Mecurio, who blasted one down low past Mentsch for a 3-1 lead, a power play goal and sent the Kittanning faithful into a frenzy with just 1:17 remaining and one period away from Rostraver. On to the third period and while Indiana was looking for a spark, Kittanning was looking for the knockout punch. Indiana went on the power play with 9:29 remaining and the best chance to score was Kittanning’s Luke Heller on the breakaway, but Mentsch dove out and poke checked the puck away at 9:01. The next rush up the ice resulted in another penalty and a 5 on 3 for Indiana, but Adam Toy was brilliant stopping several Indiana chances, the best on Zach Diamond on a sliding save across the crease at 7:38. Kittanning was able to kill the penalties, but Corey Mills banged home a rebound at 6:05 off a big scramble in front and the Indians were back in it 3-2. Indiana just dominated the final minutes with a 16-3 shot advantage in the 3rd and 40-14 on the night, but Adam Toy kept them out the rest of the way and paved the road to Rostraver with a 3-2 victory and a date with Thomas Jefferson next Tuesday night.