Seneca Valley Raiders

Central Catholic 9 Franklin Regional 3 NEW KENSINGTON – Central Catholic [13-7-2], the # 7 seed and Franklin Regional [11-11-0], the # 10 seed squared off in the opening round of the 2006 Penguins Cup playoffs. The Vikings have enjoyed a nice run in the Penguins Cup playoffs since Kevin Zielmanski took the helm in 1998, winning it the first year, but have been unable to get the prize they want the most, which is a State Championship. CC went to the finals the very next year in 1999 losing to Meadville in overtime 2-1 on a goal by Nick Tucci and has not been back since. Franklin Regional, on the other hand has a decent history in getting to the Penguins Cup, the latest in 2003 losing to Meadville at RMU Neville Island Sports Center, which Head Coach Jim Daugherty was a part of, with 5 trips including only one at AAA and 4 consecutive at Class AA in 1993,1994,1995 and 1996. The Panthers have never captured a Western Pennsylvania Championship. Both schools prior to 1999 won a couple of WPIHL Championships and have a great history with strong hockey presence. The Vikings struck first as Chris Urso won the face of to the left of Franklin Regional goaltender Anthony Livescchi, beat the centerman and lofted a wrist shot through the stick side for a 1-0 lead for CC. Central Catholic went on the power play and at 3:51 cashed in as Josh Martin’s shot from the right point was re-directed on its way to the net by Joe Kerr to make it 2-0. With 48 seconds remaining in the opening period, # 16 snuck into the middle of the ice Andy Hanno took a perfect feed from Glenn Sherwin and beat Livescchi low to the stick side to make the count 3-0, as the Vikings outshot the Panthers by a 6-5 margin. Franklin got on the board at 10:42 on the power play as Joey Nicoletti picked up a loose puck in the circle and buried a wrist shot high over the stick hand side over Bobby Magyerics. Central Catholic went on a 5 on 3 power play and cashed in again as Chris Urso picked up a loose puck on the doorstep and deposited it into an empty net past James ‘not Bobby’ Orr at 7:41 to make it 4-1 and just 40 seconds later the Vikings lit the lamp again at 7:07 as C.J. Burke scored on a Josh Martin rebound turning this one into a CC runaway 5-1 with a power play goal. With 5:34 Turner Andritz scored to cut the lead to 5-2. CC went back on the 5 on 3 and C.J. Burke scored with 4:01 remaining to make it 6-2. With 33 seconds remaining in the 2nd period, Joel Sirianni scored for FR to cut the CC lead to 6-3. Then with just 10 seconds left before the ice cut, Bryan Dietz beat James Orr on the short side to push the Viking lead to 7-3. On to the third period and Franklin Regional goaltender # 3 in the game, Adam Treml and the Vikings rudely welcomed him as Chris Urso completed the hat trick at 14:28 to make it an 8-3 punishment of the Panthers. With 9:57 remaining in regulation Glenn Sherwin tipped a Josh Martin shot between the legs of Treml to make it a 9-3 advantage for the Vikings. Central Catholic piled up the shots in the third period and walked away with an impressive 9-3 victory in front of an intimate gathering at the Valley Sports Complex.