Baldwin Highlanders - 1975 & 1988 AAA

DELMONT ~ McDowell coach Marlin Coon loves to challenge his team to do better and he is always looking for opportunities to take the Trojans to another level, so when Nels White, his long-time rival coach at Cathedral Prep, was sent packing by the Ramblers, Coon added a Nels to the Trojan coaching staff. The Trojans opening schedule for league competition looks like the Post Gazette Top 5 as they have faced defending Class AAA State champ Meadville [L 3-2 in overtime], Cathedral Prep [a satisfying 2-0 win] and Central Catholic [a close 2-1 loss] for a 1-2 record. A breather in the schedule would come next in the form of undefeated Plum and soon to be number # 1 ranked North Allegheny, next Tuesday in Warrendale. So with Coach Coon looking for a Woodland Hills – Allderdice doubleheader at the end of the tunnel, McDowell figured it would be a great time to schedule some more fun and committed to the 2003 Pa Hockey Scholastic Showcase in their spare time on the bus on the way to Delmont…..and thank god they voted BEFORE they got a taste of Route 22 traffic in Murrysville on a Friday afternoon. Whew…………now I need a breather [I went the back way through Export] with my trusty assistant 4 year old Jamie. Now Plum head coach Stu Relnick is a man of empathy, as he and his assistant Jerry Bass, along with Phil Mains and Ryan Griffin figured they would take a little road trip to Erie Wednesday night for McDowell-Central Catholic, just to make coach Coon fell better. The Mustangs are off to a 4-0 start and looking to be a challenger in Class AAA and knew McDowell would be a real tough game on the slate. Plum took advantage of the dreaded ‘Bus Legs’ in the first period as David Dincau opened up the scoring for a 1-0 Plum lead and Jimmy Stauffer converted a Matt Giunta feed for a 2-0 first period lead as the Mustangs outshot McDowell 16-7. Aaron Arnold hit the post at 13:14 of the second period, which marked a turning point for the Trojans. McDowell carried the play through the middle period and outshot the Mustangs 12-8 in the 2nd. The Trojans cut the lead in half as Gary Peterson fired home a nice play by Ed Maras, who kicked the puck to his teammate as his stick was tied up by a Plum defender at 5:07. McDowell was storming the Mustangs late in the second and nearly tied the game as J.P. Balson came up big stopped a Brian Hammel wraparound at 4:58. The Trojans may have been a little too aggressive in the closing seconds as Tony Michalak’s shot rang off the post and the Mustang’s counter attacked and made McDowell pay as John Kalichuck buried a David Dincau pass with just .2 seconds left to give Plum a huge insurance goal and a 3-1 lead. On to the 3rd and McDowell carried the play to Plum outshooting the Mustangs 12-7 in the final period and 31 – 30 on the evening. Gary Peterson pulled the Trojans back within one on a shorthanded goal, but Plum would prevail as Kalichuck beat John Cleary with a nicely placed wrist shot to the glove side with 2:33 remaining to give the Mustangs a hard fought 4-2 victory.