Baldwin Highlanders - 1975 & 1988 AAA

NEW KENSINGTON – Baldwin coach Mike Cox didn’t watch the Plum-Shaler game before their matvhup with Fox Chapel, but if he did he would see a lot of characteristics of his team with Shaler in the Highlanders inability to come up with the big goal when they need it. The Highlanders have been struggling to put pucks in the net but lets keep in mind who their opponents where ….Mt Lebanon, a 2-0 loss, Central Catholic, a 6-1 loss after being a one goal game in the middle of the second and Upper St Clair, a 5-2 loss. So the degree of who Baldwin was playing had a little something to do with it even though the theory is consistant. The equalizer to all of this is Matt King, who is arguably the best goaltender in Class AAA and a Pa Hockey Top 25 selection, who has carried the Highlanders and has them on the doorstep of the playoffs again after a long drought for the storied Baldwin program. Fox Chapel coach Keith Kearney on the other hand has the scoring and has the defense and his team is just looking for a little respect for their 17-2-1 record and clinching of the East Division title. The Foxes consider themselves a contender for the Penguins Cup and this writer agrees that if EVERY player suits up for them they are. The player who will swing the pendulum is sophomore Matt Quigley, who is in my opinion one of the top 5 players in Class AAA. The two games in which Quigley was not a factor were the two losses to top dogs Meadville [he didn’t play] and Mt Lebanon [he left in a 0-0 game in the 2nd period]. Thursday night is here and Quigley was in the lineup against Baldwin. The Foxes came out flying in the first period and took a 2-0 lead as Joe Bduz scored at 5:32 and Quigley scored his 1st goal on the evening at 4:33. The Foxes pounded Matt King with 13 shot to Baldwin’s 6. Fox Chapel looked like a machine in the second period as Quigley scored at 14:06 and then overpowered King with a blistering snapshot upstairs at 9:35 to give the Foxes a commanding 4-0 lead. Baldwin did not quit and picked their game up at this point and began to chip away at Fox Chapel with nine shots on Todd Hendry. Lou Del Greco finally broke the ice at 3:31 of the 2nd to get the Highlanders on the board 4-1. Things started to get interesting as Michael Joyce found the net just over a minute later and the FC lead was now only 4-2 at 2:24. The next goal would be huge and Baldwin would get it as Garrett Beisinger caught Hendry in no mans land as he intercepted a bad clearing attempt and slid the puck past the diving Foxes goaltender to pull Baldwin within one at 4-3 with 14:07 remaining in regulation. FC would go on the power play, but the Highlanders would capitalize as Dave Stock found his way around the FC defense and scored on the breakaway beating Hendry just inside the far post to tie the game at four apiece with 10:59 left in the 3rd period. Fox Chapel would pound away with 15 more shots on King and a 38-23 shot advantage for the game. With 6:49 remaining Jason Kreps fire a bullet to the glove side of King, who juggled the puck but could not control and fell on the door step. Matt Quigley found it and tapped it in with a great display of speed to beat the Baldwin defense to the puck and give Fox Chapel a 5-4 lead which they would not relinquish.