Baldwin Highlanders - 1975 & 1988 AAA

Upper St Clair 3 McDowell 3 (OT) ERIE - Upper St Clair coach John Harford does his homework on opponents and when he looked at the McDowell lineup, he saw a lot of experience staring his Panther squad right in the face. The fact is that if USC expects to be in the top 4 or 5 in class AAA at years end it will have to edge out teams in the top 8 like McDowell or possibly a Plum or Penn Trafford. The Panthers have a lot of ingredients returning this season including some real solid players promoted from their developmental ranks. With the strong goaltending duo of Max Daurora and Kenny Feldmann, St Clair could be a real interesting team come February and March, who may surprise even the coveted top 4. McDowell is in the process of still learning the ways of new Head Coach Nels White, who has taken the helm of an organization with some numbers and some solid returning talent. The Trojans have underachieved the past few seasons and while Rom wasn’t built in a day, with a dozen or so seniors, this year needs to end on a more positive note than the past few winners. Nels White knows how to win and how to elevate a hockey program as he did with Cathedral Prep many times. He also knows that in order to run with the big dogs of Class AAA, his best players must expand their comfort level and perform above expectations. After tonight’s contest, the Trojans will face New Trier Green, one of the best HS teams in the USA, Midwest Prep power Buffalo St Francis and Holy Ghost Prep, arguably Eastern Pa’s top AAA [a 5-3 winner over Flyers Cup champ Cardinal O’Hara] in the National Invitational Scholastic Showcase this weekend in Jamestown, New York. Maybe not games against pushovers, but playing the kind of teams necessary to compete at the level of Bethel Park or North Allegheny or Central Catholic or Meadville. This is a part of the process familiar to Bethel and Meadville, which has brought 13 combined State Championships to those respective programs in the past 20 years. The Panthers had the game’s first power play, but it was McDowell who scored first at 11:25 as Ryan Presnar tallied a shorthanded goal to give the Trojans a 1-0 lead. Upper St Clair tied the game at 1-1 at 7:26 when Jono Lohman scored on a breakaway beating Drew Ericson to the glove side on the ice. At 3:48 Upper St Clair went on the power play with an opportunity to take the lead. Ericsson made a nice stop on Lohman from in between the circles. Miles Gates had a golden opportunity at the other end, but Max Daurora made a real nice sliding save at the buzzer. Shots in the opening period were McDowell with 15 and USC with only 5. On to the 2nd period and the Trojans struck at 12:53 as Matt Stahon scored an unassisted goal. Moments later McDowell went on the power play again and Andy Kohler cashed in 12:15 as his shot from the right circle handcuffed the USC goaltender and trickled behind him giving the Trojans a 3-1 lead. Daurora made a terrific stop at 7:47 on a Chris Michalak backhand of a Nick Disanti rebound to keep the Panthers within two. McDowell made a mental mistake at 5:34, caught with too many men on the ice, but was able to kill off the penalty, but may have awaken St Clair, who built a little momentum. The Panthers edged closer as Mike Bagdy scored a huge goal at 2:41 to draw USC to within one at 3-2. Daurora came up with some nice saves late in the period to keep the game a one goal margin as the teams headed to the ice cut. McDowell added 15 more shots in the middle period USC had a chance to tie the game with a power play with 11:10, but the Trojans killed it off. McDowell’s Matt Stahon had a breakaway with 9:00 to go but was turned aside by Max Daurora. Moments later, USC’s Adam Bogert was in on a breakaway but was hooked putting the Panthers back on the man advantage with 8:41 to go and McDowell killed it off to preserve their slim 3-2 lead. With 6:41 to go, the Panthers received power play #3 of the 3rd period, prompting a timeout for the Panthers John Harford. This time USC was able to capitalize as Jono Lohman scored with 6:28 With a quick wrist shot low to the glove side knotting the score at three apiece. With 2:11 to go the Trojans got their chance on the power play prompting a Nels White timeout. Then a gift as the puck took a weird carom off the boards and bounced onto the stick of Nick Disanti who deposited it behind Max Daurora and an apparent winning goal at the buzzer and after a conference, it was decided that the puck crossed the line after time expired sending the game to OT. Shots 35 17 With 1:25 to play in the extra seesion, Erik Frits blocked a shot heading for a =wide open net to stop a golden opportunity for the Panthers. Ericson stopped Jono Lohman from right in front and then the puck banged off the post and the game ended in a 3-3 tie in a very entertaining hockey game at the Erie Civic Center.