Baldwin Highlanders - 1975 & 1988 AAA

Penn Trafford 5 Fox Chapel 4 (OT) HARMARVILLE – Penn Trafford has won two consecutive Division championships under Todd Purvis and appears to be a program both in numbers and talent to step to the forefront in Class AAA. The Warriors are off to a 4-2 start with a big win over Meadville under its belt and losses coming tat the hands of McDowell and the freshest one, an 11-1 pounding at the hands of # 1 Mt Lebanon last week. Penn Trafford is looking to get back on track minus starting goaltender Joel Sterniak, serving a suspension. PT is led by a strong nucleus of returning players including Chris Cerutti, Dan Sidle and Nick Whaley. Fox Chapel is off to a 4-1-1 start under Jim Damp and its only blemish was a 2-0 setback to North Allegheny. The Foxes look to challenge NA for the North Division crown and have been led by the scoring of Kyle Misour and Joe Budz along with the goaltending of Eric Thiessen, who has established himself early on as one of the top goaltenders in Class AAA. Tonight’s matchup although early in December represents two teams, who will battle for playoff positioning and home ice advantage come the end of February. Penn Trafford struck first at 13:34 as Nick Whaley beat Eric Thiessen from in tight for a 1-0 lead. The Foxes went on the power play with 4:00 remaining and an opportunity to tie the score. It didn’t take long as Joey Budz walked out of the corner and snapped a shot beating Bill Taylor on the glove side at 3:27 to knot the score at 1-1. Penn Trafford continued to press the attack outshooting the Foxes in the first period 14-7. At 13:07 of the 2nd period, Taylor made two consecutive stops on Justin Kreps, who stole the puck from the PT defense. The Foxes went on the power play with 12:22 remaining in the 2nd , but for Penn Trafford, Dan Sidle would get the gate for and additional ten minutes for a misconduct, putting Warriors at a disadvantage. Taylor made several nice stops, but the Foxes would cash in at 11:05 at Steve Bartynski re-directed a Dan Umanski’s shot from the right point to give FC a 2-1 lead, even though Uminski was credited with the goal. Fox Chapel began to pour the shots on the Warriors with an 11-2 barrage only five minutes in and Dan Uminski scored the goal this time on the power play with a wrist shot that sailed over the shoulder of Taylor through a screen at 9:23 and all the sudden FC now had a 3-1. Penn Trafford would get their first opportunity on the power play in the 2nd at 7:55 of the period and another at 5:37, which without Sidle would make it that more difficult to get back in the game. What made it more difficult was the hustle and hard work, which was continued by Fox Chapel. One thing that the Foxes didn’t count on came at 2:20 as Chris Cerutti scooped up a long lead pass off the boards by Eric Likar and was in all alone and beat Thiessen on the backhand to pull the Warriors back to a 3-2 disadvantage. Moments later at 1:58, PT went back on the power play with a chance to tie the game, but the Warriors evened up with a very undisciplined penalty late in the period, which possibly would break their momentum going to the third period. Kyle Misour made them pay just 17 ticks into the 3rd period, ripping a slapshot past Taylor to extend the lead to 4-2. Back came the Warriors at 11:39 as Dan Sidle picked up a turnover in the FC zone and backhanded over the shoulder of Thiessen to make it 4-3. Penn Trafford tied the score at 11:39 as David Brammell re-directed a shot through traffic, which eluded Eric Thiessen and tied the game 4-4. Thiessen made a nice stop on an odd man break at 6:21 off the stick of Chris Cerutti. At 5:02 of the third, Chris Cerutti was dancing and Justin Kreps wanted to lead the dance and was sent to the box for holding. Bill Taylor made a nice stop on Kyle Misour’s shorthanded attempt at 4:34. With 49 seconds remaining, Fox Chapel took an ill-advised penalty putting the Warriors on the power play, which was nullified at 4:46 of overtime. Billy Taylor made a great stop on Joey Budz at 4:06 of OT. With Clock King [League Rep Steve Sturm] threatening to end the game at 9:50 on his Swiss Time Piece, Chris Cerutti made ‘the less Concerned Citizens of Penn Trafford’ happy campers as his high wrist shot handcuffed Eric Thiessen at 1:37 of overtime and gave the Warriors an exciting 5-4 victory over the Foxes.

VARSITY: Meadville: 6, McDowell: 0 Game Report provided by Meadville Bulldog Hockey Club ERIE - Sophomore goalie Bryan Danczak was perfect in the contest stopping all 14 Trojan shots in a total team effort as the Dogs’ dominated the entire game. Meadville’s Morgan Nickerson powers the Dogs to victory with 3 goals and an assist in the contest. The Dogs outshoot McDowell 36-14 to lead the PIHL division. The first period had both teams feeling each other out a bit until the Dogs’ began to wear down the Trojans with their relentless effort. Goalie Bryan Danczak kept the Dogs’ in it early as he made some quality saves late in the period. Senior Assistant Captain Chris Learn sacrificed his body for the good of the team when he blocked a shot from the point with 1:55 remaining in the 1st. Momentum shifts to the Dogs’ as they record 9 shots on goal in the period to McDowell’s 5. The second period saw an energized Meadville team turn up the noise on the McDowell tender. At 12:13 the Dogs’ mounted 2 flurries around the net but couldn’t cash in. At 9:31 the McDowell tender began losing control of the rebounds, and the puck, and you could sense Meadville smelled blood. With increased intensity from both the forwards and defense, the Dogs’ drew a penalty. With about 9 minutes remaining the eruption began……on the power play…Casey Rogers fed Morgan Nickerson at the point and with some slick stick work, Nickerson walked through 2 defenders and snapped a devastating wrist shot past the Trojan tender for the eventual game winner. About 30 seconds later on the same shift, Nickerson used his size and agility in front of the net to score his second of the evening from Casey Rogers. Nickerson took a pass in front of the net an d pulled the puck all the way across his body…and “roofed” it with a quick backhand….sweeeeettt. 2-0 Meadville. McDowell called a time out but the train already left the station and it was Tyler Learn and” Red Hot “Mike Noonan who teamed up for the Dogs’ 3rd goal. Noonan’s aggressive attack allowed Learn the opportunity to poke home a rebound…3-0 Meadville. Goalie Bryan Danczak stayed focused on the task at hand and “stoned” sniper Nick Desanti with 2:12 remaining in the 2nd from close range. The save fueled the fire and the Dogs roared back with 1:56 remaining in the period. Coming out of the Meadville zone Casey Rogers made a nice headman pass to a streaking Morgan Nickerson. Nickerson took the puck up the right wing and with some fancy skating and stickwork…..found Pat Leone on the back door with a perfect pass through traffic that Leone punched in for the Dogs’ 4th goal. The second period ended with Meadville out shooting the Trojans 17-5 in the period and 26-10 after 2. The Dogs’ poured it on in the 3rd and “Beef” Stanton got an early Christmas present when he dumped the puck in from center red and it took and odd bounce an in for the 5th goal of the night. Leone recorded the assist on the play. Danczak stayed sharp and could smell the shutout coming but not before making several more quality saves as the Trojans tried to spoil the fun at 10:24. At 8:42, the Nickerson, Leone and Rogers line struck again with for the Dogs’ final goal of the night. Rogers and Leone worked hard to get the puck to Nickerson for the hat trick. As Nickerson was getting worked over in front of the net, he held his position and with sheer desire, muscled home the Dogs’ 6th goal with power and finesse. The Dogs’ defense tightened up for Danczak, preserving the shutout and the 6-0 win. Final Shots on goal Meadville 36…McDowell 14.

CANONSBURG – Pine Richland is off to a 5-0-1 start and after an opening 4-4 tie against Canevin has plastered the Class AA competition by a 51-4 margin running off five straight victories. I am sure many of the Rams have had this date scheduled on the callender from the time the schedule was published and have been pointing toward this game even though it is the first of December. Head Coach Jimmy Black’s team is no secret and they are a contender for the 2006 Penguins Cup, fresh off the final appearance a year ago when PR lost to Peters Township, who went on to win the 2005 Pennsylvania State AA Championship in Hershey 4-0 over Haverford. It would have been a pretty romantic match-up, if the Indians now 3-1 would have defeated Thomas Jefferson, who rattled off five unanswered goals for a 6-4 upset at Rostraver on Monday night. Peters Township has won the Pa State Title three out of the past four years and has a stranglehold on the Penguins Cup for the past four years, with the only hiccup being a 4-2 loss to Archbishop Carroll in the 2004 Pa AA title game. Coach Rick Tingle’s squad is the favorite to win it again and when the Penguin allows his Peters Hornets out of practice, they are arguably the best team in the State of Pennsylvania at any level, but none where in attendance for this early season match-up with PR. All where in attendance Monday night against TJ, so there are no excuses for PT. Chris Papciak has rejoined the Indians squad adding to the firepower of this team come March, when as we learned a year ago it really counts. A sparse gathering of Concerned Citizens of Peters Township and Pine Richland were in attendance for the big match-up. Peters would get the first opportunity on the power play at 12:39 and the Rams limited the chances and killed it off. PR received their first opportunity on the power play at 7:34 of the opening period and also failed to crack Mike Mastracci. At 4:50 of the first, PR went back on the power play, but Dustin Roux almost scored at 3:39 shorthanded or the Indians as his backhand just trickled wide. Mike Mastracci made a great stop on Josh Fodor from point blank range at 2:32. Peters got the next power play at 2:17, but could not crack the scoreboard in a scoreless opening 15 minutes. At 9:45 of the second period, Peters was whistled for a delay of game penalty as Mastracci’s clearing attempt went over the glass. At 5:32, Mike Mastracci made a great stop on Brian Miller from on the doorstep. The game went to the ice cut at 0-0. Richland’s Josh Fodor great chance at 14:42, but Mastracci made a diving stop to keep the Rams off the board. Stoney Hildreth got into the act at 12:59 stopping Chris Papciak. The Rams continue to pick their play up and pressure and Mastracci made another skate save on Phil Trombetta. Then with 11:34 remaining in regulation, Pine Richland was whistled putting the Indians on the power play. Brendan Conlon and Josh Fodor would take advantage of lack of backchecking by the Peters power play unit as Conlon found a loose puck in the corner and hit a streaking Fodor, who buried a wrist shot low to the stick side to give the Rams a 1-0 lead at 10:24. With 7:30 remaining, PR got a big insurance goal as Kyle Adams crashed the net and gave the Rams a 2-0 lead. The flood gates opened at 6:17 as Steven Adams buried a snap shot on the stick side to make it 3-0. PR continued the pressure and picked up an impressive 3-0 win at Southpointe.

Championship Game Mt Lebanon 4 Orchard Park 1 ***GAME SUMMARIES*** Consolation Game Gilmour Academy 3 St Ignatius 2 (SO) Highlights: Gilmour Academy wins sudden death shootout on 8th shooter Preliminary Round Gilmour Academy 2 Malvern Prep 1 Mt. Lebanon 4 Gilmour Academy 0 St. Ignatius 2 Orchard Park 1 Malvern Prep 2 Orchard Park 1 Mt. Lebanon 2 St. Ignatius 1 Orchard Park 1 Gilmour Academy 0 Malvern Prep 6 St. Ignatius 1

CORAOPOLIS – The state of Class A hockey is this…..gone is Deer Lakes, Johnstown, Steel Valley, South Fayette, Somerset, Blackhawk, just to name a few over the past two seasons. Waiting in the wings is Quigley and possibly Conemaugh Valley or Ferndale, which seem to hang on every year. What was once a pride of High School Hockey in Western Pennsylvania is now a mix of have and have-nots and may explain why the Pennsylvania High School Hockey Championship trophy reads …..2005 – Penncrest – 2004 Radnor – 2003 – Radnor. Yes indeed Serra Catholic [in 2002, 2001, and 2000] was the last Penguins Cup champions to win it all. So out of the twelve teams in Class A, Quaker Valley and Sewickley Academy were the canon fodder for the annual Bishop McCort – Serra Catholic Class A Penguins Cup, which has been the case 4 out of the past 6 years, with the Westmont Hilltop visit in 2003 and Somerset short stay in 2004 being the only exception. Quakers coach Kevin Quinn in many people’s opinion has the best team on paper in Class A entering the season and is off to an impressive 4-0 start including a 4-1 victory at the Cambria County War Memorial over 2005 Penguins Cup champions Bishop McCort. Sewickley Academy is coming off its best ever season a year ago and looking to better itself from a Penguins Cup semi-final appearance and loss to Serra Catholic. Coach Eric Hoolihan had the whole summer to ponder his goaltending woes in the playoffs, which ultimately lead to his teams demise and exodus out of the playoffs. Steve Tehovnik is now the SA man between the pipes and will have to be the answer if this team hopes to contend this year and take it one step further. A 3-0-0 start for Sewickley is expected given the opponents faced. The first big test would come tonight before a jammed packed Airport Ice Arena of ‘Concerned Citizens of both Quaker Valley and Sewickley’, which both happen to reside in the same place as the high school building are less than a mile apart, so we’ll classify this one as a rivalry. At 13:04 of the first period, the Quaker Valley faithful were treated to a customary Furman South goal on a rebound to give QV a 1-0 lead. The Panthers were given an opportunity at 11:41 of the opening period on the power play and after a scramble for the puck, Benji Brozanski kept the puck alive in the zone and Chris Behrer found the rebound and deposited a backhand past Zac Zinger at 9:47 to tie the score at one apiece. Zinger made two nice saves on a delayed penalty called at 6:59 and the Panthers went back on the power play and could not score as the QV goaltender stopped Brad Watts twice prior and after the penalty expired. The Quakers lack of discipline resulted in a SA power play at 2:02, which resulted in another kill by QV. At 14:26, an innocent looking play behind the Sewickley net ended on the stick of Cody Scott, who jammed home a shot past Tehovnik to give the Quakers a 2-1 lead. End to end action took this game by storm in the middle of the second period. Zinger made a great save on Alex Echavarria at 7:19 and another on Brad Watts at 6:39. The Panthers kept on working and earned another power play at 4:08, but it was the Quakers who capitalized as Mikail Lemieux stole the puck at the blue line and buried a wrist shot high over the glove side of the SA goaltender at 3:15 for a shorthanded goal. With 44 seconds remaining in the period Zac Zinger robbed Brad Watts again to keep his team in front by two. On to the third period and if there was a big play for the Panthers in this game it came at11:48 as Richard Thornburgh lugged the puck out of his own zone and carried it into the QV zone and hit a streaking Conner Blood in the slot , who was stopped by Zinger, but scored on the rebound low to the stick side to cut the lead to 3-2. The Quakers came right back at 10:55 as Colin South banged home a rebound to give QV a 4-2 lead.SA maintained the pressure in the QV end, but could not beat Zac Zinger. Mikail Lemieux scored an empty netter with 2.9 left for a final count of 5-2, in a game, which was a lot closer than the score as the Panthers outshot QV 30-19, but the Quakers came out the victors on the scoreboard.