Baldwin Highlanders - 1975 & 1988 AAA

Its looks like the drive to see all 65 Varsities may have a slight chance of happening in 2002-2003.........Saturday's game's with Wehheling Park and Conemaugh Valley brought the total to 62 teams with three left............ Norwin we'll need to see this week possibly Trinity and Forest Hills in the playoffs next week !

VALENCIA ~ Canevin has clinched a playoff spot and is working on preparing for the upcoming playoffs. Coach Brian Henderson has done a wonderful job getting the Crusaders back in the playoffs after a two year sabbatical and is now working on teaching his players what it takes to go to the next level including discipline. Canevin would be playing without Justin Holzer, who was suspended for this contest, but will be needed if the Crusaders have hopes of advancing, which has been a tradition. Hampton has been one of the biggest mysteries of the 2002-2003 season, starting off with a 2-6-0 record. Something happened as the Talbots have had a great second half and could be a factor in the upcoming playoffs, which I am sure pleases head coach Craig Clontz. Senior night was celebrated and the underlying message of this senior night was the admiration amongst the players, who have matured into a team that is willing to put in on the line in the trenches, which is critical for any team thinking of a playoff run…..and this is the number one reason Hampton has turned their season around along with the improved play of goaltender Brian Troiano. Canevin had its chances in the first period to grab the lead on the road as Regis McGrath missed on a breakaway in the games opening minute. Both teams had power play opportunities, but Troiano and Canevin’s Patrick Smith kept the game scoreless. With the Crusaders on the power play in the final minute of the period, Troiano robbed Dane Hetland with :01 on the clock and the first period was scoreless. The Hampton goaltender was stealing the show as he stopped Hetland and Pawlos at 11:52. Hampton looked to break out on top as Brandon Kolich hit the post at 8:28 and the Talbots gain some momentum and scored the opening tally as Michael Briston’s shot from a weird angle banked off Smith to give the Talbots a 1-0 lead. The Crusaders came right back as McGrath took a picture perfect pass from Jordan Goff and the game was tied at one apiece. In the third period, Hampton appeared to take the lead as John Bongiovanni’s goal at 10:09 was waved off on a high stick. On the next shift, after Briston won the faceoff, Grant Patterson cut inside the Canevin defender and beat Smith low on the short side and the Talbots had a 2-1 lead. Then with 5:22 remaining, Canevin was whistled for a penalty and coach Henderson was livid and picked up a bench minor putting Hampton on a 5 on 3. Bongiovanni scored on the rebound with 4:58 left for a big insurance goal and a 3-1 lead for the Talbots. Jared Coleman put Canevin back in reach with a goal just 10 seconds later to make the score 3-2. Brian Troiano would have the last say in this game as he stoned Crusader sniper Dane Hetland on a clear breakaway with 2:38 remaining and shut the door the rest of the way for a 3-2 Hampton victory.

HARMARVILLE – Deer Lakes defeated Forest Hills Wednesday night in Johnstown by the score of 10-3 as Matt DiSanti tallied five goals. So coach Al Pawloski was licking his chops at the opportunity to face Mars since they would be without top forwards Bob Finney and Jim Roche, who are vacationing in Colorado. Mars, on the other hand, saw its perfect season go down the tubes last week as Roche, Finney, Bobby Beckert and Steve Meyers were out of town with their amateur teams and the Planets fell to Blackhawk 9-4. Mars had requested a schedule change early in the season, knowing that these players would be out of town and didn’t get a return phone call from the PIHL, which is a common ‘shell game’ tactic if your school is not in the favor of a pathetically run organization. Not to say that I in favor of changing games, which I am not, but when there are at least three dozen games which have been changed by the PIHL, why wasn’t Mars given an opportunity? Well, maybe since they are tied with Serra for the # 1 seed now, that’s all we need to know! Well, enough of that …..people get upset and start writing e-mails when objectivity and honesty surfaces and besides Deer Lakes was here for a hockey game and not another one of ‘those’ boring ‘twisted facts’ editorials, right ? Stop it ! Mars opened up the scoring as Pa Hockey top 25 selection Steve Meyers took advantage of an opportunity to play forward with a goal at 12:23 for a 1-0 lead. The Lancers netminder Roman Drivenosky stopped the Mars onslaught with the best chance coming off the stick of Bobby Beckert with 2:15 remaining, but the big Planet forward would get the final say as he banged home a rebound with :49 seconds left after three cracks to give Mars a 2-0 lead. Bryan Ross kept the high scoring Lancers off the board stopping DiSanti at 10:57. Meyers appeared to go up 3-0 at 7:08 but the goal was whistled down on a high stick. Drivenosky made a nice stop on a Beckert re-direction at 5:52 and the score remained 2-0 until with 2:28 remaining Steve Meyers walked through the DL defense and beat the goaltender on the forehand for his second goal and a 3-0 advantage. DiSanti came right back on a similar goal to Meyers just twelve seconds later to get the Lancers on the board at 3-1. On to the third period and Beckert scored his second goal at 11:45 to put the Planets on top 4-2. Bryan Ross made a splendid save on Andreas Backstrom at 7:45 but the Lancers kept plugging and DiSanti scored a power play goal with 6:39 left and the lead was cut to 4-3. But the night belonged to Meyers and Mars as the senior forward / defenseman took the puck from the center zone and warded off defenders and jammed home a shot on the forehand to give Mars a 5-3 victory and hope for that # 1 seed.

MONROEVILLE ~ Upper St Clair has had a breakthrough season in some respects and a disappointing season in other respects. Kip Guenther’s club has proved it can compete with the best Class AAA has to offer in tying Bethel Park and Meadville and defeating Mt Lebanon and Franklin Regional. The flip side is some of the dreadful defeats to mediocre clubs, which have plagued the Panthers in the standings and comes with the territory associated with a young talented club, which has not fielded a full lineup consistently throughout the season. Penn Hills coach Lou Biancanello would like to have such problems as the once proud program has fallen on hard times of players who go to the school and will not suit up for the Indians or maybe it’s a sign of economics of a sport which is pricing out a lot of people in Interscholastic Hockey. One thing that PH can be proud of is the effort of those players who have suited up and given their best in an otherwise very trying 5-14-1 start. Upper St Clair came out in the first period and dominated the territorial play and this resulted in a Dan Duda goal at 12:14 and a 1-0 lead. Penn Hills answered two minutes later as Jay Gilardo’s slapshot beat Kyle Wolfey through the five hole on the ice. Then with 7:57 remaining, Pa hockey top 5 Freshman selection Kris McDonough’s wrist shot from the right point found its way through traffic and past Kyle Bolte for a 2-1 Panther lead. Penn Hills scored a huge goal with just :02 left in the opening period as Ryan Jones scored to tie the game at two apiece. With USC on the power play early in the second, Jones was in behind the Panther defense and undressed Wolfley on the forehand at 11:59 for a shorthanded goal and a surprising 3-2 Penn Hills lead. After killing off a 5 on 3 shorthanded situation, Upper St Clair used that momentum to mount a charge as McDonough scored with 4:21 left in the 2nd and Ian Joyce put the Panthers ahead on a power play goal with 2:25 remaining. Back came the Indians and Jones completed the hat trick on a third assist from linemate Jay Gilardo and the game was tied again 4-4. On to the third and Jones was now possessed to make this his and the Indians game as the talented sophomore made USC look defenseless on the rebound at 13:13 and PH was back in front 5-4. The Panthers came back as Joyce picked up his second goal on a great shorthanded effort at 10:20 and the game was tied again 5-5. Just when USC looked as if it was gaining momentum and an advantage in the play, Jones struck for # 5 coming out of nowhere to poke a Gilardo feed past the outstretched Wolfley and give the Indians a 6-5 lead with 7:38 remaining. Jay Gilardo added an insurance goal with 2:49 left and Kyle Bolte shut out USC the rest of the way as the Panthers pelted the Penn Hills goaltender with rubber in the games final few minutes making the final count 7-5 in favor of Penn Hills.

AIRPORT – Blackhawk missed the playoffs last season on the season’s final day, losing to Center in a mild upset. Coach Dave Stepanian’s club has already clinched a playoff spot for this year’s tournament and is possibly looking to slip into a home playoff berth for the first round. Ahead of the Cougars prior to this evenings contest are Deer Lakes [whom Blackhawk defeated 11-8 last week] and Freeport, so a victory over the Yellow Jackets would be huge. Freeport has battled all season and after a slow start, coach Jim Hill’s club went on a mini streak and then dropped a couple of one goal nailbitters to Mars and Bishop McCort. The Yellow Jackets are also looking to nail down a home berth in a potential first round match-up in the upcoming Class A playoffs. The opening period was pretty wide open as the teams played a little loose on defense. Freeport’s Dustin Gaworski missed on the breakaway at 13:44 and Blackhawk netminder John Fitzgerald made a stick save on Yellow Jacket sniper Michael Bender at 6:55. Blackhawk appeared to take the lead as Jake Polas hit Mike Wylie in stride and Wylie scored on the rebound, but the officials determined that the puck was directed in with a high stick. Freeport’s Dustin Gaworski bumped a Cougar defenseman off the puck and walked to the net and buried a wrist shot upstairs at 3:08 for a 1-0 lead. Freeport then took a couple of penalties and was down by two with 1:32 remaining. Blackhawk show extreme patience and it paid off as Jake Polas found Sam Kristian, who beat Derek Gaworski through the 5-hole to tie the game at one apiece with just :47 left in the opening frame. In the second, the Cougars went back on the power play at 13:04 and Mike Wylie hit the crossbar and dropped in the crease and no goal, but Blackhawk kept working and Jake Polas scored on the rebound at 11:23 for a 2-1 lead for the home team. Freeport came right back as Marty Bollinger’s slapshot from the right point glanced off Fitzgerald’s glove to tie the game at 10:43. The Cougars regained the lead as Mike Wylie walked through the Yellow Jacket defense and dropped a beautiful feed to Matt Stepanian, who made no mistake on the ice down low and Blackhawk now had a 3-2 lead at 9:33. The game tightened up defensively as both teams engaged in a chess match, Bender’s attempt to tie the game hit the post with 4:59 remaining in the 2nd. On to the third period and Derek Gaworski and John Fitzgerald put on a goaltending clinic. Gaworski stopped the Cougars Peterson on the breakaway with 6:06 left. Fitzgerald stoned Freeport’s big guns Mike Bender and Dustin Gaworski with 5:01 remaining. Blackhawk’s Mike Wylie just missed with 4:39 remaining as Gaworski dove to push the puck wide. Blackhawk went on the power play on a very undisciplined penalty by Freeport with just 2:32 left, but the Yellow Jackets were the aggressor as Gaworski and Bender had some chances shorthanded, but Blackhawk held on as Freeport could not get the equalizer with a 3-2 win. The victory pole vaulted the Cougars into 8th place in the Class A standings and in position to capture a home playoff game.