Baldwin Highlanders - 1975 & 1988 AAA

*****Game Summary provided exclusively to PA Hockey by Canon-McMillan Hockey***** CANONSBURG, PA -- Thomas Jefferson Coach Don Powell knows what its like to wear the target. His Jaguar teams have been so good over the past several years, every other team in the league circles the date they play TJ on the calendar. Powell and company have put together one of the strongest hockey programs in the area, but on this night, they'd be the team that was taking aim at the target. Unbeaten and top-ranked Canon-McMillan was the team in their scopes, and a win would be a big boost for the unranked Jaguars. The Big Macs, meanwhile, wouldn't feel complete if they didn't end their spectacular first-half with a perfect record. They had put together a string of impressive victories to claim the #1 ranking, and a win over Thomas Jefferson would put an exclamation point on an unblemished record. The game opened with TJ drawing first blood. Dan LaBarbera wristed a shot from the right point through a screen that tucked inside the left post, and the Jaguars were ahead 1-0 less than 3 minutes in to the contest. Gary Bucci and Brock Heinauer combined for the assists on the goal, which was LaBarbera's second on the season. Doug Stanton has been fire on ice for the Big Macs of late, and he responded to LaBarbera's goal by slamming home a rebound off a Jesse Patnesky backhander to tie the game at 1. Kyle Harnen added the second assist on the play, and the intensity was building. Canon Mac was able to grab the lead when Nate Bohn threw a lead pass to Justin Cormack, who made a nifty move around a defender before deking to his forehand for the goal. The first period ended with the home team leading, 2-1. The second period started with more fluid play than the first period, but the physical play increased, as well. A quick transition by TJ in the neutral zone led to a break down the left wing by Zack Hanbury, who fired a wrist shot off the tip of the outstretch glove of Drew Stanton and in to the net. Bucci picked up the lone assist on the goal, which tied the game at 2. Doug Stanton and the Big Macs took control from there, however. Stanton put Canon-McMillan back in to the lead with a power play goal off a pass from Justin Cormack, and the period closed with the score 3-2 in favor of Canon Mac. The score was close to start the third, but the momentum was on the side of the Big Macs. Just over a minute in to the final period, that momentum helped Canon Mac build on their lead. It was Doug Stanton who found the back of the net again with a blistering shot from the right wing to complete the hat trick and record his 23rd goal of the year. Cormack and Eric Lang picked up assists on the play, and the hats came flying to honor Stanton's feat. Cormack kept the momentum going after he took an outlet pass from Stanton and fought through a stick check at the red line to score off the rush. Patnesky notched his second assist of the night on the play, while Stanton and Cormack both pushed their point totals to 4 in the game. Thomas Jefferson wasn't about to give up, though, and Heinauer closed the gap with 6:10 remaining off an assist by Hanbury. Canon-McMillan looked to have restored their 3-goal lead a short time later when Cormack raised his stick after a wrist shot from the slot, but the puck neither referee saw the puck go in the net. That gave the Jaguars a chance to put out an extra attacker in an effort to pull within 1, but CM goaltender Drew Stanton kept them from doing so. The game ended with a 5-3 win for the Big Macs, who continue to conquer opponents in the third period. Drew Stanton made 21 saves to notch his league-leading 9th win of the year, while Mike Patterson and Craig Markovitz combined to make 25 saves for the Jaguars. The win improves Canon-McMillan's record to 11-0, and the loss gives TJ a 6-5-1 record heading in to the holiday break. The Big Macs open the second half of the season on January 3rd at home against Ambridge, and the Jaguars return home the same night to face Kittanning.