Baldwin Highlanders - 1975 & 1988 AAA

CASTLE SHANNON – The Trinity hockey program has not been exactly a Class AA power over the years, but under the guidance of Larry Marks the team is a far cry from the 1-18-1 record in 2001-2002. The Hillers entered the 2004 Penguins Cup playoffs for the second straight year and while making the playoffs was a big deal last year, Trinity was looking for its first ever playoff victory. The Hillers have a short bench and have relied heavily on players like Jeff Hildebrand, Chris Graff, Greg Bandzuch, Josh Kelly and Matt Warco, who have provided over 80 % of Trinity’s scoring throughout the season. South Park has been to the Penguins Cup playoffs for 16 years and has yet to capture a Penguins Cup in 31 years, which is amazing given the talent that has been developed in the program over the years. The closest call believe it or not was way back in 1976, when the Eagles lost 3-2 to Gateway, who went on the next day to lose to Abington in the Class AA State Championship. The best South Park team may have been in 1997, when the Eagles were SHIHL AA Champions and could not overcome a early deficit against eventual Pa State AA Champions Erie Cathedral Prep and lost 5-3 at Rostraver. Head coach Bob Juha’s team down the stretch looked more like a team heading out of the playoffs as the Eagles have struggled to score goals when they need them and a prime candidate for a first round exit if they didn’t change things in a hurry. Trinity slowed the pace of the game down in the first period to perfection with smart play and good puck control, which kept the short Hiller bench fresh. South Park’s Matt Nichol appeared to score the opening goal at 9:57, but was waived off for the net was dislodged. The Hillers struck first late in the period as Chris Graff poked home a rebound and Trinity was on top 1-0 with 48 seconds left in the period. The Hillers extended their lead to 2-0 at 13:49 of the second as Chris Graff’s wrist shot through a screen handcuffed Ian Artim and the Eagles looked to be in trouble. Artim made a huge save on Jeff Hidebrand at 9:56 to keep South Park within reach. The momentum swung South Park’s way after a power play at 4:48, but Mick Alexander made two diving stops on Matt Lutrell and Michael Englert with 4 ½ minutes remaining. On the unsuing face-off this playoff game would take on a complete momentum switch. Dennis Fleming’s wrist shot from the right point found its way through traffic and bounced past Mick Alexander and South Park was finally on the board with a power play goal at 4:15. The Eagles were flying now and Tim Ryan took a great cross ice pass from Matt Slogan and tied the game deking Alexander at 2:55. Both teams had great chances late in the period to take the lead but Jared Miley’s shot rang off the post ay 2:02 and Josh Kelly just missed on a wide open chance at 1:53. Trinity had the first opportunity of the third period as Josh Kelly had a partial break, which was stopped by Ian Artim at 14:40. Alexander robbed Don Remlinger with a glove save at 12:57 after the Trinity defenseman lost his edge and fell. South Park just kept coming and Tommy Vaughn found Larry Locante alone in front, who beat Alexander between the legs to give the Eagles their first lead 3-2 at 10:40. South Park took a very undisciplined penalty at 8:01 and Trinity went to work on the power play in an attempt to tie the game. The Hillers were all over the South Park goal but could not score but the Eagles somehow kept them out after a big scramble in front of Ian Artim at 6:39. This would be all South Park would need as Tim Ryan took a nice chip pass from Slogan and beat Alexander on a breakaway to give the Eagles a 4-2 lead with 5:06 remaining. Matt Slogan would put the nail in Trinity’s coffin as the lanky forward scored on a wrist shot with 3:20 left. Greg Badzuch’s goal with 2:16 remaining brought the Hillers within two, but it was too little too late and the Eagles earned a 5-3 victory and a date with arch-rival Peters Township next week in the Elite 8 Class AA Penguins Cup.

CASTLE SHANNON – The movie ‘Groundhog Day’ plays on most cable stations this time of year and if someone is looking for a sequel, they could hire the Plum Hockey Club as the actors. The Mustangs have been here before and opened the season with a 4 overtime thriller against North Allegheny only to lose the championship game of the St Margarets Fall Face-Off. So head coach Stu Relnick must have looked forward to any overtime possibilities because sooner or later Plum would win one. Yes there was the overtime loss to Holy Ghost Prep in the Pa Hockey Scholastic Showcase, which left the Mustangs out of the Medal Round and of course the Central Catholic loss 3-2 in overtime, when Plum looked like a sure winner only to see it slip away and the tail end of all of this was the season finale against Gateway, when the Mustangs out shot the Gators 39-14 and still lost 4-3, putting the Gators in the playoffs. So this factor motivated some of the Plum players off the sidelines and back into action to reverse the disturbing trend as Travis Senchur and David Dincau returned to the lineup for round 1 of the playoffs. The opponent this evening was a road game against Upper St Clair, the talented ones who have gone home the past three seasons, after some pretty good regular seasons, but nothing to show for their efforts. The last playoff victory for the Panthers was in 2000, when they went on the road and defeated Gateway in a wild affair at the Golden Mile 7-6, which was the same time frame when Kip Guenther was helping Jim ‘Mort’ McVay begin orchestrating three straight Pennsylvania Class AAA championships for Bethel Park. Upper St Clair is a team which can score a lot of ways with players like Jeff Greenberg, John Markwell, Kris McDonough, Ian Joyce and a few other players and those few other players are the ones who would have to step forward to enhance the Panthers chances of moving forward in the Penguins Cup for the first time in four years. Upper St Clair struck first as nice looking freshman Andrew Blazek walked off the far boards and buried a wrist shot upstairs on the glove side of J.P. Balson for a 1-0 lead just 1:12 into the contest. Plum would answer as Aaron Arnold made a terrific play along the boards and found a streaking Mike Renna at 12:05, who made no mistake to tie the game at one apiece. The game really opened up as the teams played wide-open hockey and both Balson and USC’s Kevin Gorder were called upon to make some tough saves. The Mustangs went on the 5 on 3 power play at 8:35, but were thwarted on a great penalty killing effort by the Panthers, in particular Kris McDonough, who was brilliant blocking 3 Plum shots and clearing the zone. The Mustangs would overcome the inability to score on the power play as Travis Senchur picked off an errant clearing attempt and blasted a slapshot high over the glove side of Gorder to give Plum a 2-1 lead at 5:35. USC was awarded a penalty shot at 2:11, when a Mustang covered the puck in the crease and Matt McGinnis made a great move, but J.P. Balson made a better save just getting his leg on the puck. At 1:59, Travis Senchur gathered a loose puck in the USC zone and went high to the stick side on Gorder and all the sudden Plum had a 3-1 lead. Gorder robbed Mike Dunlap from point blank range with just 33 seconds left in an entertaining opening period. The Panthers refueled in the second period as the caught a break when J.P. Balson lost sight of a loose puck and relentless Mike Penkrot banged it home for a big goal at 14:38. USC was flying now and poured 12 shots on Balson and Jono Lohman tied the game 3-3 after the Panthers were buzzing the Plum zone courtesy of Jeff Greenberg and John Markwell, who worked the to the front of the net. USC recaptured the lead at 6:57 as David Crockett showed great patience on a breakaway sliding the puck just past the outstretched Balson and the Panthers were now on top 4-3. On to the third period and Travis Senchur completed the hat trick as he buried a wrist shot on a great pass from Jonathon Smith just 35 seconds into the period. The defenses tightened up a little in the middle of the period, but David Crockett delivered a huge goal with 6:37 left in regulation as skated in between the circles and fired a laser high over the stick side of Balson to give St Clair a 5-4 lead. Plum was desperate now and David Dincau made a great play on the forecheck to pry the puck loose in the USC zone and get it to John Kalichuk who found Jonathon Smith in the slot who delivered a blistering wrist shot upstairs on the stick side to tie the game at 5-5 with just :56 seconds on the clock. On to the overtime period and Plum had a golden opportunity to win it but Kevin Gorder stopped Kalichuk from just in front less than a minute into the extra session. The next trip up the ice would prove fatal for the Mustangs as Mike Penkrot picked up a loose puck in the high slot and made a great move shooting the puck down on the ice past Balson and giving Upper St Clair a thrilling 6-5 overtime victory before a festive crowd at the Ice Castle and a date with either Central Catholic or Fox Chapel in the second round next week.

2004 Penguins Cup Playoffs NEVILLE ISLAND - Special Report provided by the Montour Hockey Club ISLAND SPORTS CENTER -- Montour defeated Moon by the score of 4 - 2 in a thrilling and heart stopping match up in a classic first round PIHL AA battle. Dan Shiwarski slid the puck along the ice for the game winning goal on a tape to tape centering pass from Mario Panucci, that split two Moon defensemen on its way to the net. Montour's Tyler Kocak struck first with a goal 4 minutes into the game following a pass from defenseman Joe Uram. However, Moon answered quickly 28 seconds later with a goal of their own when Lee Feigert took a centering pass from David Alberga and sneaked it past Montour goalie Nick Gialloreto, making the score 1-1 at the end of one. Moon scored again early in the second [period] on a goal by Chaz Story following a pass from Max Polinski giving Moon a 2 - 1 lead after two. Montour goalie, Nick Gialloreto, would not let another goal in for the rest of the game, making key saves in the third period. Montour out shot Moon by the score of 39-18 but Moon goalie Andrew Slifkin stood on his head and kept it close making one spectacular save after another. However, the Montour offense finally solved Slifkin in the third and the Montour defense tightened up. Starting the third period, Montour's Mario Panucci won the face-off and dropped it back to Chad Talotta. Talotta skated the puck the length of the ice and roofed a backhander past Slifkin's blocker side to tie the game at two. Meanwhile, Montour defenseman Brian Dugan skated hard and made great plays on defense while also moving the puck up ice to create some offensive opportunities. With 6:15 to play in the game, Mario Panucci stole the puck from a Moon winger and skated it along the boards into the Moon defensive zone. Panucci then made a slick pass that split two Moon defenseman on its way to the net, where a cutting Shiwarski was able to put it home to give Montour the 3-2 lead. Moon was given a late power play opportunity following a tripping call with 2 minutes to play. However, Mario Panucci stole the puck from a Moon defenseman and put the game sealer into the empty Moon net for his third point of the night.

HARMARVILLE – Shaler coach Ron Steedle has coached Interscholastic hockey since 1978, which is before most of the players in the Fox Chapel – Shaler opening round Penguins Cup playoff were born, so its safe to say that the long time Titan coach has a little playoff experience and was looking to lead his 10-11-3 club against a very talented Fox Chapel team. The Titans started the 2003-2004 season 1-5-1, but rebounded to be arguably one of the most improved team in Class AAA the season’s second half with a 9-6-1 record with a victory over # 6 seed Upper St Clair and a season ending 1-1 tie with their playoff opponent rival the # 3 seed Fox Chapel 20-2-2. The Foxes coach Keith Kearney had to be pinching himself in the lobby and if he didn’t, his assistant coach Chris Sturm was at the prospects of having leading scorers Joe Budz and Matt Quigley back in the lineup. Budz was returning from an injury, but its Quigley, who is the sniper and in my opinion may be the most valuable player to his team in all of Class AAA. Matt Quigley is a player, who will go along way in hockey and as a sophomore doubles his time with the Pittsburgh Hornets, a AAA midget team, who’s coaches have basically told its players that high school hockey ruins their careers. Well Sunday afternoon at Harmarville, a split season team which hadn’t played together for two months of ALL high school players called the Pittsburgh Predators, defeated the mighty Hornets 3-1 and eliminated them from the USA Hockey National playoffs and the Pennsylvania State playoffs. So anyone looking for some ice time for the playoffs, can get some at Neville Island and Interscholastic Hockey players who want to play both High School and Travel should play for split season teams and finish their high school careers, then go on to Juniors and then collegiate hockey and when they are mature enough and have learned enough about the game can entertain thoughts of professional hockey. Ryan Malone played for Upper St Clair, then Shattuck St, Mary’s, then St. Cloud State and then the Penguins and isn’t it amazing that the article written by Bob Smizek earlier this week revolved around not the Hornet’s, but Malone’s plight of not making Team Pittsburgh as a player for Upper St Clair [by the way that was 6 years ago in 1998]. So Matt Quigley should stay in school, whether it be Prep or Fox Chapel, go to Prep School or the USA National Developmental team, then Junior A, then collegiate hockey and then entertain a shot at pro hockey. That is the path and that’s what he can do if he wants to pursue it ….. this kid is just 15 years old, a sophomore at FC and rather than ruining his career he can help jump start it by leading the Foxes to the promised land because the Foxes are undefeated when he is in the lineup. So now we know why Mr Kearney and Mr Sturm are pinching themselves! The first period was action packed before an electric crowd of over 800 at the new beautiful rink at Harmarville as the Fox Chapel and Shaler, long-time rivals would square-off in the first round of the 2004 Penguins Cup playoffs. After Shaler killed off the games first penalty, the Foxes struck first as Joe Budz slid a perfect pass to Quigley, who cut down the off wing and buried a snap shot past Nick Bennardo at 11:33 for a 1-0 FC lead. Shaler picked their game up and started to pressure Fox Chapel, but could not beat Todd Hendry with any of its six 1st period shots. The Foxes extended their lead as Quigley banged home a Kyle Misour rebound at 7:45 and FC was up 2-0. The second period was all Shaler as they picked up their physical play and outshot the Foxes 11-7, including a 17-7 game total midway through the 2nd. Justin Carnprobst, who returned late in the season and was buried on the Shaler bench crashed the net and tipped an Alex Gore shot which just trickled by Todd Hendry and the Titans had new life with 8:31 remaining at 2-1. The game was there for the taking for Shaler and as Jimmy Duss gathered the puck in his own end, he was hauled down by a Fox Chapel player, which apparently none of the four officials on the ice saw and would have given Shaler a power play and the momentum. A bad break for Shaler and part of the game I guess? What happened next turned the tide for Fox Chapel as the Titans were whistled for a questionable high sticking call at 6:44. Fox Chapel made the best of their opportunity as Quigley completed the hat trick on a wrist shot with assists from his linemates Budz and Misour to give Fox Chapel a 3-1 lead with 5:44 to go in the middle period. The third period was a classic defensive game for Fox Chapel as Jason Kreps, Sam Stack, Dan Uminski, Todd Hendry and the rest of the Foxes shut down Shaler and held the Titans to just 5 shots. Nick Bennardo was brilliant for Shaler in defeat stopping several FC chances, but Fox Chapel would hold on and move to round 2 with a 3-1 victory as the Foxes improved their record to 21-2-2 and await their opponent at their new home in Harmarville.

Read the Erie Times News article for Meadville's opning round game with Catthedral Prep