Baldwin Highlanders - 1975 & 1988 AAA

2006 Pennsylvania High School Hockey Championships – Class A Quaker Valley 9 Penncrest 2 NEVILLE ISLAND – The Penncrest Lions have been on a joy ride since last March as the Lions started their journey to their first ever Flyers Cup A Championship defeating Central Bucks West and then continued their voyage at the Hersheypark Arena with a heartstopping 5-3 victory over Bishop McCort to capture the Pennnsylvania Class A title. For head coach Steve Mescanti, the thrill of being champions and the honor to defend their title has even been more enjoyable. The Lions were not the favorites to repeat as Springfield and Hershey move ahead in the Flyers Cup A seedings as the Inter-County Scholastic Hockey League playoffs saw Penncrest get bounced as Springfield capture a title, which has been a prelude to State Championships the past three years as Penncrest and before the Radnor for two years have gone on to win the Pennsylvania State Title. So when the Lions and Cougars of Springfield matched up in the 2006 Flyers Cup, conventional wisdom and momentum was against Penncrest, but Mescanti’s boys edged their rivals from the ICSHL 1-0 and captured a date in this State final. Quaker Valley’s journey has been a lot longer than most but the trip has been enjoyable for those close to the program as their only Head Coach from the program’s inception in 1997 has been Kevin Quinn. The Quaker’s built their program the right way through developmental programs and bringing players up through the ranks of Freshman hockey to the Varsity level. QV can be proud that ALL of its players are home grown, with no advantage of bringing already developed players in from another team. Quaker Valley defeated long time nemesis Serra Catholic 6-0 top capture the Penguins Cup in their first ever trip and gain a spot next to the defending State Champions Penncrest Lions. The Quakers will be trying to do something for Western Pennsylvania tat has not happened since 2002 when Serra defeated Radnor to win the Pennsylvania Class A crown. After a run of ten in a row from 1993 to 2003, Western Pa holds 11 Class A State Championships and Eastern Pa has captured 6 Class titles. So before a packed house at the RMU Neville Island Sport Center and after a nervous opening sequence for QV at 14:04, red hot Furman South walked off the near boards a rifled a rocket over the stick side of Ryan McElhenny to give the Quakers a 1-0 lead. After the whistle at 12:50, Penncrest lost its composure with a retaliation penalty putting QV on the power play. But it would be Dave Bixler, who would draw a penalty just 41 seconds later to even it up in a very important turning point in the hockey game. With 7:46 remaining in the opening period, the Lions were a little overzealous on the physical play and put the Quakers on the power play with another chance to go up two goals. With 6:06 remaining, McElhenney made a point blank save on Cody Scott and the Lions were able to kill off the QV man advatantage. With 3:21 remaining in the first period, Penncrest earned an opportunity on the power play and gain a tie score and after some sustained pressure, the Lions took another aggressive penalty to even it up. With 1:02 left another penalty created a 4 on 4 situation and moments later after brother Furman went to the box, freshman Colin South showed tremendous patience on a 2 on 1 and buried a wrist shot low to the glove side with 47 seconds for a 2-0 Quaker Valley lead and then just 19 seconds later, it was Colin South beat McElhenney on a long shot that handcuffed the Penncrest goaltender and gave the Quakers a 3-0 lead as they outshoot Penncrest 14-7 in the opening period turning a tight one goal contest into a 3 goal QV cushion. On to the second and QV goaltender Zac Zinger got into the act stopping Bixler from the side of the net. Penncrest showed some frustration and put the Quakers on the power play again. Then the South’s struck again as Furman found a loose puck along the boards and fired a shot at 6:55, which Ryan McElhenney saved but like a truck Colin South crashed the net and beat the Penncrest defenseman to the puck and the Quakers now had a 4-0 lead, prompting a timeout by the Lions. With 5:53 to play nothing was going right for the Lions as they were whistled again and just 7 seconds after the face-off, Furman South buried a slapshot from the middle of the circle and the score read Quaker Valley South 5 Penncrest heading East 0. Then with 3:12 remaining in the 2nd, a QV miscue ended up on the stick of Nick Kusturriss, who beat Zac Zinger low to the stick side to get the Lions on the board 5-1, but the Quaker Valley team would be just 15 minutes from a State Championship. Although Penncrest outshot QV in the period 14-11, the Quakers dominated the first 30 minutes and it was reflected on the scoreboard. The Penncrest chances ended up safely in the capable hands of QV goaltender Zac Zinger early in the third period. And then the icing on the cake came with 10:21 remaining as Furman South intercepted a Penncrest clearing pass and then deked the Lion’s defense and lofted a wrist shot low to the stick side to give QV a 6-1 lead on a great goal for the hat trick. With 8 ½ to go and a two man advantage, the puck found Furman South’s stick again like a magnet and he buried a wrist shot to the stick side for his 4th goal of the game and a demanding 7-1 plastering of the defending State Champions. Then with 7:14 remaining, little used 4th liner John Chicots scored on his own rebound for an exclamation point and a 8-1 QV runaway. Then another goal as Mikail Lemieux unleashed a wicked slapshot that beat McElhenney with 6:33 to play to make it 9-1. Penncrest’s Dave Bixler scored a consolation goal with 4:43 to play to make the final count 9-2. Final shots were 40-36 in favor of QV. For Quaker Valley, a tremendous finish to a magical season in bringing back the State Class A Championship to Western Pennsylvania.

2006 Pennsylvania High School Hockey Championships – Class AA Pine Richland 3 Haverford 0 NEVILLE ISLAND – Haverford High enters the 2006 Pennsylvania Class AA Championship on the heels of their 2nd consecutive Flyers Cup with a 4-0 victory over Central Bucks South. For head coach Brian Cleary last years trip to the State AA title game left a lasting impression as the Fords failed to score against Peters Twp and Rob Madore going down by a 4-0 score. Haverford held Peters to a 1-0 game into the 3rd period without Ian Finnerty, who is this season’s leading scorer for the Fords, who was injured early in last year’s title game. Haverford will try to score against a Pine Richland team who is underrated defensively and maybe more importantly to give the Fords a little confidence. Having been here before may be an advantage the Fords can point to as they will need every possible advantage they can get as they face a red hot Rams squad. Pine Richland has been a team on a mission ever since losing in the Penguins Cup finals a year ago to Peters Twp 6-2. And when it came time to slay the dragon for coach Jimmy Black’s club in the Penguins Cup semi-finals against Peters, the Rams fell behind 3-0 late in the 2nd period after yielding a shorthanded goal. Then the difference maker in this playoffs show why he is the unquestionable leader for Pine Richland as Josh Fodor gathered a puck in his own end and buried a slapshot past Peters Twp goaltender Mike Mastracci with one second remaining in the 2nd period and awoke the sleeping giant. The Rams went on to outshot Peters 15-0 in the third and with a big comeback edged the Indians 4-3 as Fodor picked up the game winner. PR has not looked back since pummeling Kittanning 8-3 to capture their first ever Penguins Cup and now have an opportunity to capture the first Boys State Championship for the Pine Richland school district ever. A throng of Pine Richland supporters joined the Haverford faithful for another packed house at RMU Island Sports Center. At 12:10 of the opening period, Stoney Hildreth got a skate on an Ian Finnerty wrist shot labeled for the lower corner as the Fords carried the play in the opening minutes. The Rams would have their first opportunity on the power play be nullified by a penalty by Richland after a delayed call. Haverford’s Jason Hazleton stopped Josh Fodor with 5:29 remaining in the opening period. With 4:26 to go, the Fords would get an opportunity on the power play, but it was George Saad with the chance after a nice set-up by Brian Miller at 3:22, but Jason Hazleton made the save. The Fords had a golden opportunity on a short 5 on 3 advantage, but the Rams killed the first part and then the second portion of the penalty. The teams fought to a scoreless opening 15 minutes as the Fords held a 9-8 advantage in shots. With 11:38 to go in the second, Haverford was whistled on a questionable hooking call putting the Rams on the power play. Fodor took the puck to the net early in the power play, but Jason Hazleton was equal to the task and the Fords killed it off. With 8:04 remaining in the 2nd, Dylan Trombetta got behind the Fords defense on the breakaway and Hazleton stopped him. Another questionable call put the Rams on the power play at 7:46 as Jason Hazleton continued to sparkle and keep Pine Richland off the board as this scoreless game continued to build drama as to who would score first. At 3:22 of the second, Hazleton made an unconscious save in the crease on Phil Trombetta as he somehow kept the puck out. The Rams went on another power play after a skirmish in front of the Haverford goal and went on a 5 on 3 with 1:44 left in the period. As Pine Richland continued to miss chances, Haverford kept persevering and the teams went to the ice cut in a scoreless tie as the Rams outshot the Fords 14 –5. Then a wild play with 12:19 to go in regulation as Joe Christman’s shot deflected off of something or someone near the circles and caromed low to the glove side to give the Rams a 1-0 lead. So Haverford has now played 5 + periods in the state finals and has yet to score. Another Pine Richland power play and at 9:14 Phil DiDinato jammed home a Jordan Yoklic rebound to give the Rams a 2-0 lead. An with 8 ½ left in regulation, the Fords would get a rare power play, but an undisciplined penalty would cost them a half a minute into the man advantage. The referees now made it a competition to see who could call more penalties as the third period was a quagmire of calls. The Fords pulled the goalie with a 5 on 3 power play and had a couple of chances and then Brendan Conlon, the kid left at the rink 7 years ago, provided an empty net goal with 1:16 remaining to seal the victory and a State Championship for Pine Richland with a 3-0 lead and victory for the Rams, who would not be denied fighting off a valiant effort from Haverford High and a great goaltending performance by the Fords Jason Hazleton, who turned aside countless Pine Richland shots and scoring chances. A great win for a Pine Richland program that is a bridesmaid no more and a solid goaltending performance by Stoney Hildreth, who earned a shutout in victory and a well earned defensive effort and enough offense to capture the title.

2006 Pennsylvania High School Hockey Championships – Class A Mt Lebanon 5 Cardinal O’Hara 2 NEVILLE ISLAND – Mt Lebanon coach Paul Taibi knows the story and he has heard it more than enough times about the Blue Devils quest for a State Championship. The Blue Devils are 25-0-0 and attempting to join 1977 Churchill, 1986 Conestoga, 1987 Upper St Clair, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995 Meadville and 2001 Bethel Park as teams who went through the regular season and Penguins Cup playoffs with perfect records and capture the Pennsylvania Cup AAA Championship. Lebo has not been as sharp as they want to be in the playoffs, but considering the yielded only 9 shots in the Penguins Cup final to North Allegheny winning their 4th Penguins Cup title and 2nd in 3 years, things are not too bad to be a Blue Devils fan. Mt Lebanon is looking to capture their first title since 1976 and the Blue Devils only meeting against Cardinal O’Hara was a 4-2 victory on their way to that title exactly 30 years ago. Cardinal O’Hara has been a bridesmaid to Malvern Prep in the Flyers Cup for the past half dozen years under long time coach Bill Swahl. The Lions captured their first Flyers Cup by defeating Germantown Academy 6-3 and are also unbeaten at 19-0-4 in the very tough Flyers Cup AAA division. O’Hara features a rugged team that is in uncharted waters with 2006 Eastern Pa player of the year Ryan Klingensmith. The Lions did play in the Inaugural State Championship in Class A in 1989, losing to Plum 10-4 and rather than being a Flyers Cup champion, where a filler team invited because Western Pa needed a team and the Lions were available according to lore. This game will feature two team with contrasting styles and excellent goaltending, as Cardinal O’Hara and Mt Lebanon lined up before an overflow crowd at RMU Island Sports Center. The Blue Devils penned O’Hara in their own end early on with quick line changes. Sean McDermott had a partial break at 11:41 as Ryan Klingensmith stepped out to stop him. Cardinal O’Hara played a real nice opening six minutes and went on the power play at 8:11 and they cashed in as Mike Cenisio wound his way through the Mt Lebanon defense and lofted a chip shot past the stick side of Mat Vaughn to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. This is significant since the Blue Devils have trailed only 3 times all season. Lebo came back at 6:22, but Ryan Klingensmith made the save on Shane Ferguson from in close. Then an inadvertent play as an O’Hara player bumped Matt Vaughn and put the Blue Devils on the power play at 4:54, which is a nice break at this point as the Lions have could not have scripted the first period any better. Mt Lebanon would get to tie on the power play with 45 seconds. Klingensmith continued to look solid in between the pipes for O’Hara and keeping Lebo off the board. Mt Lebanon could not capitalize in the opening minute, but a real nice effort by Lebo 66’s finest Rick Beuke drew another penalty at 12:40 and a chance for the Blue Devils to tie the game and then Mt Lebanon came in a flurry as first it was Mandic, then McDermott and finally Shane Ferguson scoring on a rebound at 11:52 to tie the game at one apiece. Shane Ferguson is a sparkplug for the Blue Devils and at 10:12, the Blue Devils forward scored a magical goal redirecting a Tyler Murovich pass from out of the corner to quickly give the Blue Devils a 2-1 lead. The Blue Devils had O’Hara running around and Bill Swahl was wise to call a timeout and settle the troops down after two quick goals. At 9:10 of the period, Shane Ferguson continued to be a thorn in the side of the Lions as he stole the puck and forced the defenseman to pull him down. At 7:44, the Blue Devils power play set up Brandon Dornish on the back door, but Ryan Klingensmith made a nice sliding save to keep the score 2-1. Then the goal came from Sean McDermott and this is a legacy Blue Devil, whose grandfather coached Mt Lebanon to its only State Championship and his dad and uncles were stalwarts in Blue and Gold in the early days. McDermott walked out of the corner and ripped a backhand high over the glove hand side of Klingensmith at 4:58 and Mt Lebanon now had a 3-1 lead. If Cardinal O’Hara was going to get back in this game a break came at 3:48 in the form of a mental mistake as Mt Lebanon took a too many men on the ice penalty. The Lions almost scored but Brandon Dornish dove a poked the puck out of danger with 2:21 to play with two Cardinal O’Hara players within striking distance and the score remained 3-1. Mt Lebanon dominated the second period of play with a staggering 22-3 shot advantage and 33-7 through two periods. So 15 minutes is all that remained between Mt Lebanon and history and Cardinal O’Hara would have to solve the 7 shot O-Fence-Sive performance through two periods and Bill Swahl must have had some encouraging words with a little fire because the Lions looked a little desperate in the opening minutes of the 3rd period. Kilngensmith kept his team within two goals stopping Tyler ‘Terminator’ Murovich from in tight with 9:04 to play in regulation. With 6:19 remaining in the 3rd period, Mt Lebanon went on the power play and the termination letter to Chief O’Hara was written as Brandon Dornish fed a streaking Tyler Murovich, who buried a snapshot up under the crossbar with 4:43 remaining to give Lebo 100 a 4-1 lead and a little over 4 ½ minutes to kill to capture the Pennsylvania Class AAA State Championship. Mt Lebanon took two ill-advised penalties putting O’Hara on the 5 on 3 power play with 2:42 remaining and 6 on 3 with the goalie pulled for the extra attacker. The Lions found the net as Tom Newman blasted a slapshot from the left point at 2:16 high over the glove hand of Matt Vaughn to make it 4-2. The Lions still had a minute left on the 2nd power play, but Lebo killed it. And when Josh Mandic out raced the O’Hara player to the puck and deposited it into the empty net it was a time for celebration for Mt Lebanon Hockey as 30 years of frustration was now history with a 5-2 victory and a perfect 26-0-0 season for the Blue Devils to capture the Pennsylvania Class AAA championship for the 2nd time.

Team Philadelphia The 22nd Chicago Showcase will be held on April 19 - 23, 2006 at the Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville, Illinois. The tournament features teams from all over the United States and Team Philadelphia will compete in the C Bracket. This tournament is a great opportunity to be seen by Junior A, Division 1 and NCAA Collegiate and ACHA Division 1 scouts and an opportunity to further a players high school career into a higher education and also continue playing hockey. Tryout information will be posted as soon as it becomes available. ***THE 2006 Team is posted*** Team Philadelphia Team Philadelphia will compete in the C Bracket with Team South, Team Connecticut and for the first time ever, Team West Virginia/Kentucky. The team will be led by Germantown Academy Head Coach Gump Whiteside and General Manager Ken Reddy

Former Fox Chapel star Billy Thomas has become the 3rd player from Western Pennsylvania to play in the National Hockey League with the Phoenix Coyotes. Thomas, who played for the Foxes in the late 1990's, played in the Amatuer Penguins organization before moving on the Cleveland. Prior to joining the collegiate ranks, Thomas played for the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League (USHL). He led the team in scoring in 2003-04, collecting 31-38-69 in 60 games. Thomas played in USHL All-Star Game and earned Tri-City’s team MVP award. He also led the entire USHL in playoff scoring that season with 8-6-14 in 9 games leading Tri-City into that USHL championship. He led the entire nation in scoring among freshman and earned the CCHA Rookie of the Year and became the leading scorer for in the NCAA at the University of Nebraska-Omaha of the CCHA and earned CCHA First Team All-Conference honors. Congratulations to Billy Thomas and the Thomas family on this great accomplishment ! Once again...we at Pa Hockey have looked far and wide over the rosters of Major Junior A and NCAA Division 1 Colleges across the United States and in Canada and came up with the players from the State of Pennsylvania playing at that level. Keep in mind that this list does not include ACHA Division 1 or NCAA Division 3. Now we know that when this list gets combed over that we may have omitted a player or two......so if you know of someone playing at that level, please let us know.......the list for 2005-2006 is coming to Pa Hockey soon !