Bethel Park Blackhawks - 1997-2000 -2001-2002-2005 AAA

ERIE - Special Report to Pa Hockey provided by the McDowell Trojans A power play goal by Ed Maras in the first period sparked the McDowell Trojans to a 1-0 victory over the Meadville Bulldogs in a key PIHL West Division matchup Wednesday night at the JMC Ice Arena. With the Trojans on a power play, Kaylan Rhoades was able to gain control of the puck behind the Bulldog net and feed a centering pass to Maras who was streaking across the front of the goal crease. As he was being checked to the ice he was able to fire a shot across his body and past Bulldog goalie Bryan Danczak with 4:36 left in the opening period for the decisive goal. From there on out it was a battle of sparkling goaltender’s play as Danczak and Trojan netminder John Cleary were unbeatable. Danczak would make 15 saves in the second period while Cleary came up with three outstanding saves in the period. With 6:45 left in the third period, McDowell had a golden opportunity to double their lead while on the power play but came up empty. And just as the penalty had expired, Meadville would also get a man advantage where they came up empty despite putting five shots on net. Meadville would pull their goaltender with 1:30 left in the game, but only muster one more shot on Cleary who picked up his second shut-out of the year in league play.The game was a well-played contest as McDowell finished the contest 1 for 2 on the poewerplay while Meadville finished 0 for2. The Trojans outshot the Dawgs for the game by a 39-24 margin. McDowell, ranked 8th in the PIHL by the Pa Hockey Elite 8, improved their record in the league to 6-2 (11-3-1 overall) while Meadville, ranked #6 in the polls fell to 3-2-1 in the league (8-6-5). Goals By Period: Meadville / 0 – 0 – 0 = 0 McDowell / 1 – 0 – 0 = 1 Shots On Goal: Meadville / 8 - 8 - 8 = 24 McDowell / 15 – 15 - 9 = 39

JOHNSTOWN - Special Report to Pa Hockey provided by Latrobe Hockey Club The Latrobe Wildcats ended the first period of ice hockey play with a 3 - 0 lead over the Somerset Eagles. The Wildcats never relinquished their lead and went on to win the game 5 - 4. Brad Roth scored two goals for Latrobe with teammates Brendan Berkley, Mat Mesaros and Miles Ritenour each adding a goal. RJ Williams registered three assists for the Wildcats. Also, Latrobe's Chris Castine, Mike Kimmel, Mesaros and Roth each provided an assist. Latrobe Goalie Justin Fontaine stopped 39 of 43 Somerset shots to help secure the Wildcat victory. For Somerset, Cullen Eddy registered a hat trick and teammate Tristan Barth contributed a goal. Kruz Schmucker and Mathias Eliason each provided two assists for the Eagles. Additional Somerset assists were tallied by Brandon Ditzler, Josh Barron and Barth. Somerset Goalie Wesley Cramer turned away 19 of Latrobe's 24 shots.

JOHNSTOWN - Special Report to Pa Hockey provided by Latrobe Hockey Club The Latrobe Wildcats ended the first period of ice hockey play with a 3 - 0 lead over the Somerset Eagles. The Wildcats never relinquished their lead and went on to win the game 5 - 4. Brad Roth scored two goals for Latrobe with teammates Brendan Berkley, Mat Mesaros and Miles Ritenour each adding a goal. RJ Williams registered three assists for the Wildcats. Also, Latrobe's Chris Castine, Mike Kimmel, Mesaros and Roth each provided an assist. Latrobe Goalie Justin Fontaine stopped 39 of 43 Somerset shots to help secure the Wildcat victory. For Somerset, Cullen Eddy registered a hat trick and teammate Tristan Barth contributed a goal. Kruz Schmucker and Mathias Eliason each provided two assists for the Eagles. Additional Somerset assists were tallied by Brandon Ditzler, Josh Barron and Barth. Somerset Goalie Wesley Cramer turned away 19 of Latrobe's 24 shots.

WHEELING, WV - Special Report to Pa Hockey provided by the Carrick Hockey Club The Cougars had a 12-4 shots on goal advantage in the 1st period but were held scoreless until soph. Chris Larkin poked in a Nick Kelly rebound in the final seconds of the period. The second period was a defensive battle until soph. Justin Hennon scored on a TJ Gault rebound to make it 2-0. Carrick would score again later in the period when Gault found jr. Matt Abbott in front of the net to make it 3-0. Carrick took that lead into the final period. The Cougars put the clamps on WCC in the final frame holding them to only 3 shots. The lone Carrick goal was set up by Larkin who made a long pass to Justin Deery to spring him on a breakaway. Deery, who scored his 12th goal of the season, put a great double move on the WCC goalie and backhanded the puck into the top of the net. The defense then put the game on ice as the continuously shut down the neutral zone and turned away dump ins. The combination of seniors Tim Tagmeyer, Walter Meuhlbauer, and George Demko along with juniors Gary Delehenty, Brian Klein, and Ryan Koch held WCC to just 12 shots on goal. The six defensemen earned a big assist for goaltender Jonny Rethage's first varsity shutout. Offensively Abbott scored his 10th goal of the season while Nick Kelly had three assists and TJ Gault had two assists. The Cougars now are 5-1 sitting just behind Penn Hills and Chartiers Valley for the top spot in the open division.

Each month in Breakaway Magazine, Pa Hockey will provide a monthly report on the happenings of the world of Western Pa Hockey. Check out the Western Pa Hockey Report in Game Summaries and in Breakway Magazine.