Baldwin Highlanders - 1975 & 1988 AAA

Special Report to Pa Hockey - Thank You to McDowell Hockey ERIE - The temperature in Erie, Pa may have dropped dramatically outside the Erie Civic Center Thursday night, but inside the Civic Center things were quite warm. That's because when rivals McDowell and Cathedral Prep compete at anything, things tend to get heated up. McDowell used a 27-save performance from goaltender John Cleary and efficient penalty killing to skate away with a 2 – 0 victory over rival Cathedral Prep in last nights 'Battle of Lake Erie - Round I'. The Trojans killed off 6 Prep power plays including two 5 on 3 man advantages and a 5-minute major penalty to start the third period. With the game scoreless in the opening stanza, Dan Barthelson jammed in a rebound off a shot from Gary Peterson with 2:35 left in the period to put the Trojans on top 1 – 0. The score would remain that way until 5:31 remained in the second period when Eric Trapp tipped in a shot from Chris Prior to give McDowell a 2 – 0 advantage. But Prep did not back off. They continued to apply pressure in the period and with :12 seconds left in the 2nd, McDowell’s Gary Peterson was assessed a 5 minute major for slew footing. McDowell's penalty killing unit did an outstanding job in limiting Prep's scoring opportunities during the man advantage, and there was still 1:30 left in the major penalty when the Trojans received another penalty for elbowing. But the Trojan penalty unit was up to the task as they killed off both penalties, allowing only 3 shots on net in the process and taking the ferocious northern arctic wind out of Prep's sails. Both teams took turns creating scoring chances the rest of the way, but both netminders kept their teams in the game. Cleary came up big when he was called upon, and Prep's Ryan Zapolski saved 22 of 24 shots as his teammates killed of all 4 McDowell power plays. Scoring by Period: McDowell / 1 – 1 – 0 = 2 Cath. Prep / 0 – 0 – 0 = 0 Goal Scorers: McDowell / Dan Barthelson, Eric Trapp Cath. Prep / None McDowell Shutout Goalie: John Cleary - 27 shots / 27 saves Prep Goalie: Ryan Zapolski – 24 shots / 22 saves Shots on Goal by Period: McDowell / 8 - 9 - 7 = 24 Cath. Prep / 5 - 11 - 11 = 27