Upper St. Clair Panthers - 1980 - 1987 - 2011 AAA

ROSTRAVER ~ Mighty Hilltoppers pull off a big upset and defeat Mars 3-2 ! Mars has had a wonderful season in 2002-2003, out scoring their opponents in almost ridiculous fashion and has done so with great touch around the net and great puck movement. Head Coach Bob Finney’s team dare to go where no Planets team before them, as Mars picked up its first ever state playoff victory over Deer Lakes 10-5 to advance to the Penguins Cup Semi-Finals at Rostraver. The opponent would be division rival Westmont, who the Planets defeated twice this season 6-1 and 6-4 and beating them a third time would be a real feat for Mars. Westmont Hilltop has been here before and head coach Art McQuillan has watched many a Hilltopper season end at Rostraver over the past as 6 out of the past eight years have ended in Penguin Cup Semi – Final disappointment, not including 2002 when they lost to Serra Catholic at the Gardens. So the usual suspects with a couple of their friends as Bob the Bus Driver in his own superstitious way, like many of the Hilltopper faithful took their posts at the Rostraver Ice Garden, hoping for a little Irish luck for McQuillan lad and his band of merry men on St Patrick’s Day. Maybe Mars was supposed to be a little nervous in their first trip to the Semi-Finals, nut the Planets came out storming in the first period and took it to Westmont outshooting them 20-5, but Hilltopper goaltender Pat Krumenacher was outstanding helping his team kill off two of three penalties. The one he didn’t resulted in the games first score as Bobby Beckert stationed himself in front and took a nice feed from Bobby Finney and slammed it home for a 1-0 Mars lead. Westmont weathered the storm and held Mars off the board early in the second as the Planets continued their attack with 14 more shots in the middle frame. As legend woud have it, the mighty Hilltopper would get their chance as Mars was maybe too aggressive as Justin McClosky streaked down the left wing and blasted a big slapshot inside the far post to tie the game with 10:02 left in the 2nd. McCloskey showed why he had 37 goals on the regular season as he came right back a few shifts later and beat Bryan Ross on a long slapshot, which appeared to have deflected off a Mars defenseman and over the glove of the freshman goaltender at 6:36 to give Westmont a 2-1 lead, despite being outgunned 34-10 through two periods. Mars continued their attack on Westmont resulting in a Planet power play in the middle of the final period of regulation. Jim Roach found a wide open Bobby Beckert in tight at 8:04 and the big Mars Forward made no mistake beating Krumenacher through the 5 hole and tying the game at 2-2. Art McQuillan had to wonder as his team was whistled with a little over five minutes to play putting Mars on the power play, with a chance to regain the lead. But this wasn’t just any ole Hilltopper team, as David ‘don’t call me Corey’ Mock made a great play to penetrate the Planets defense and dropped a terrific pass to McCloskey, who buried a wrist shot past Ross and sent the Westmont faithful into an uproar on the near sidelines with a 3-2 lead. The mighty Hilltoppers could smell victory and Mars displayed their frustration by taking a few ill-advised penalties late and Westmont held on to go on to the Penguins Cup for the first time since 1998. ROSTRAVER ~ Serra continues mastery over Bishop McCort 4-1 ! Bishop McCort has been to the Penguins Cup finals 10 out of the last twelve seasons with five Class A State Championships and many great seasons, but coach John Bradley’s club has run into a real roadblock over the past three seasons in the form of the Serra Catholic Eagles, who have won three consecutive State Championships at the expense of the Crimson Crushers. The road to the Class A State Championship, which used to go through Johnstown has been detoured through onto Route 30 and through East McKeesport and Serra Catholic High School. Those pesky Eagles have been awesome this season, but head coach John Mooney knows every time his team suits up against McCort, that Serra will have a tussle, especially at playoff time. Serra defeated Freeport and has been scorching Class A for the entire second half of the season with the usual suspects Leppo, King and Lubasch, but also with a new breed of Eagles in Joey Manning, Ryan Noone and Ray Gillis, who have matured into a strong double threat for the Egales. CJ King opened the scoring at 10:40 beating the McCort defense and goaltender Ron Stenger on the wrist shot stick side to give Serra a 1-0 lead. The Crimson Crushers pressured Serra for the equalizer in the first period, including a 5 on 3 power play with two minutes left in the first, but met the same old frustration as Timmy Johnson stoned them included 10 shots on the two man advantage and the Eagles took a 1-0 lead to the break. On to the second and King rung McCort up again on the power play at 10:08 getting his own rebound and beating Stenger to give Serra a 2-0 lead. Joe Delic came back and got McCort on the board on a rebound goal with 7:27 left in the 2nd period. The Crimson Crushers were pressing for the equalizer but Serra caught them napping as King found Joey Manning behind the McCort defense and threaded a perfect pass to the speedy forward, who scored to give the Eagles a huge insurance goal with 3:43 left in the 2nd and a 3-1 lead. Bishop McCort would have an opportunity to get back in the game on a 4 minute power play at 12:51, but they could not beat Johnston, who stopped 33 of 34 shots and has made a career out of beating the Crimson Crushers. C.J. King closed it out with the hat trick with just 8 minutes remaining and Serra would move on to the Penguins Cup for the 4th straight year with an impressive 4-1 win over McCort.

KITTANNING ~ As the big Blue Jeep pulled up to the Belmont Ice Complex a little over a half an hour before last nights Indiana – Kittanning playoff game….the reaction was …..to put it lightly…..look at this ! While the Belmont holds nearly 1200, there were infinitely more than that in the building as a crowd of an estimated 1400-1500 showed up for the ‘Route 422’ rivalry between the Wildcats and the Indians. To find a parking space was a rarity as my partner in crime Ron Steedle and I pulled into a nice muddy creek bed to get the Jeep nice and dirty, so when Western Pennsylvania wins its 8th consecutive Pennsylvania Class AA State Championship, I can watch Breakaway’s Jeff Nolan wash it wearing the jersey of the Western Pa team……….and if its Kittanning that happens to do it we’ll all convene back in the parking lot of the Belmont. Stay tuned for details on that wager! And it was Miss Jane’s ‘Romper Room’ night as the who’s who were out in full force as the Thomas Jefferson coaching staff of Don Powell, John Fedorek, Tom Pandolfo and Mark Heinauer, joined GCC’s Joe Dytka and film crew to scout the game with Ole’s regulars Max & Tim [14:60 Forever!], Jimmo Greenbaum, Larry Montebell, Ed ‘Jake’ Jacobs, long time Kittanning/Armstrong Central coach Joe Ritchey, coach former Armstrong Central stud Jon Yackmack [who led the last trip to the State Finals out of the Belmont] and recent Indiana stud Casey Haines [who is now entertaining Junior A offers amazingly as just a sophomore in high school….I guess he won’t need to play for our recently aforementioned midget AAA team, who denies kids an opportunity for State Playoff glory in exchange for practice]. I am sure Indiana coach Dom Glavech would have loved to have put Casey Haines in the lineup last night to help his struggling offense find the net, but Casey donned a red Indiana jersey to participate with the 2003 version of the ‘Hockey Hooligans’, who were dwarfed by the town of Kittanning, who showed up to root for the home team. As the national anthem was sung, it was great to hear people actually singing along with the young lady from Kittanning H.S., which is something missing from the ‘Suburbanite’ society we live in today and gave me goosebumps. This is probably why some of us really enjoy attending hockey games at places like the Belmont or Meadville or Johnstown or Indiana or Erie, where the community really support the hockey programs and turn out in droves to watch them play [Personally, Mr Steedle and I get to double my pleasure coaching the kids in the Keystone State (MIDGETS) games, now in the 7th year]. Indiana reached the Penguin Cup Finals last season for the second time in their history and did so by defeating Kittanning 6-0 at Rostraver. The Indians then missed a golden opportunity to advance to the State Finals falling short in its comeback 3-2 to eventual champion Peters Twp. Kittanning, on the other hand, vowed after the Indiana loss to return to the big dance and coach Jeff Smouse really wanted to play Indiana along the way to prove that his team is ready to take that next step toward West Chester. To do it, the Wildcats will need great goaltending from Adam Toy to steal a couple along the way, in the tradition of great Armstrong/Kittanning goaltenders like Eric ‘Zip’ Zimmerman or Brett Frederick or more recently Aaron Stanley, who have excelled in playoff competition. As the opening faceoff approached, you couldn’t help notice the loose attitude of Indiana and the nervous look on the faces of the California bleached Kittanning Wildcats. In fact, rumors has it if Kittanning advances to Neville Island for the Penguins Cup….that Max and Tim will get a bleach-job [I’d love to see that one]. Indiana wasted no time from the opening faceoff as Dane Bertinazzi who shot one down low, which Toy had to be sharp on as he just got his skate on and deflected into the corner at 14:14. The Indians came right back and struck first as Bryan Schlemmer bang home a rebound at 11:33 for a 1-0 lead. Indiana was all over Kittanning, outshooting them 16-5 in the opening period as Toy came up big on Zach Diamond at 11:14. Luke Heller almost tied the game at 10:10, but Mike Mentsch turn it aside. The Indians had a golden opportunity to take a two goal advantage on a power play with 3:24 remaining, but got whistled for a lazy tripping call in the offensive zone just 21 seconds into the man advantage, which was a huge mental mistake and testimony of the emotions of the opening period. So Kittanning dodged a big bullet and took advantage right off the bat in the second period as Eddie Germy made a heads up play finding Luke Heller, who snapped a shot inside the post to tie the game at 14:30 at one apiece. At this point, Indiana went back to work and continued pressuring the Wildcats but Adam Toy continued to sparkle as he stopped Jayson Vaughn at 10:36 and made a sliding save on Bertinazzi at 6:06. A simple series of two little plays may have changed the complexion of this hockey game as twice Kittanning defenseman Patrick Schneider was able to clear the zone after considerable Indiana pressure and gain some territorial ice for Kittanning towards the end of the 2nd period. The results of that play and a little laziness by the Indiana backline would be a huge break for the Wildcats, as super sophomore Eddie Germy kick the puck out in front to linemate Joel Shriver, who banged it home and gave Kittanning its first lead 2-1 with 2:30 left. Indiana almost tied in on the ensuing faceoff as Aaron Smith had a partial break but shot high over Toy. The Wildcats went on the power play and won the faceoff back to Michael Mecurio, who blasted one down low past Mentsch for a 3-1 lead, a power play goal and sent the Kittanning faithful into a frenzy with just 1:17 remaining and one period away from Rostraver. On to the third period and while Indiana was looking for a spark, Kittanning was looking for the knockout punch. Indiana went on the power play with 9:29 remaining and the best chance to score was Kittanning’s Luke Heller on the breakaway, but Mentsch dove out and poke checked the puck away at 9:01. The next rush up the ice resulted in another penalty and a 5 on 3 for Indiana, but Adam Toy was brilliant stopping several Indiana chances, the best on Zach Diamond on a sliding save across the crease at 7:38. Kittanning was able to kill the penalties, but Corey Mills banged home a rebound at 6:05 off a big scramble in front and the Indians were back in it 3-2. Indiana just dominated the final minutes with a 16-3 shot advantage in the 3rd and 40-14 on the night, but Adam Toy kept them out the rest of the way and paved the road to Rostraver with a 3-2 victory and a date with Thomas Jefferson next Tuesday night.

KITTANNING ~ As the big Blue Jeep pulled up to the Belmont Ice Complex a little over a half an hour before last nights Indiana – Kittanning playoff game….the reaction was …..to put it lightly…..look at this ! While the Belmont holds nearly 1200, there were infinitely more than that in the building as a crowd of an estimated 1400-1500 showed up for the ‘Route 422’ rivalry between the Wildcats and the Indians. To find a parking space was a rarity as my partner in crime Ron Steedle and I pulled into a nice muddy creek bed to get the Jeep nice and dirty, so when Western Pennsylvania wins its 8th consecutive Pennsylvania Class AA State Championship, I can watch Breakaway’s Jeff Nolan wash it wearing the jersey of the Western Pa team……….and if its Kittanning that happens to do it we’ll all convene back in the parking lot of the Belmont. Stay tuned for details on that wager! And it was Miss Jane’s ‘Romper Room’ night as the who’s who were out in full force as the Thomas Jefferson coaching staff of Don Powell, John Fedorek, Tom Pandolfo and Mark Heinauer, joined GCC’s Joe Dytka and film crew to scout the game with Ole’s regulars Max & Tim [14:60 Forever!], Jimmo Greenbaum, Larry Montebell, Ed ‘Jake’ Jacobs, long time Kittanning/Armstrong Central coach Joe Ritchey, coach former Armstrong Central stud Jon Yackmack [who led the last trip to the State Finals out of the Belmont] and recent Indiana stud Casey Haines [who is now entertaining Junior A offers amazingly as just a sophomore in high school….I guess he won’t need to play for our recently aforementioned midget AAA team, who denies kids an opportunity for State Playoff glory in exchange for practice]. I am sure Indiana coach Dom Glavech would have loved to have put Casey Haines in the lineup last night to help his struggling offense find the net, but Casey donned a red Indiana jersey to participate with the 2003 version of the ‘Hockey Hooligans’, who were dwarfed by the town of Kittanning, who showed up to root for the home team. As the national anthem was sung, it was great to hear people actually singing along with the young lady from Kittanning H.S., which is something missing from the ‘Suburbanite’ society we live in today and gave me goosebumps. This is probably why some of us really enjoy attending hockey games at places like the Belmont or Meadville or Johnstown or Indiana or Erie, where the community really support the hockey programs and turn out in droves to watch them play [Personally, Mr Steedle and I get to double my pleasure coaching the kids in the Keystone State (MIDGETS) games, now in the 7th year]. Indiana reached the Penguin Cup Finals last season for the second time in their history and did so by defeating Kittanning 6-0 at Rostraver. The Indians then missed a golden opportunity to advance to the State Finals falling short in its comeback 3-2 to eventual champion Peters Twp. Kittanning, on the other hand, vowed after the Indiana loss to return to the big dance and coach Jeff Smouse really wanted to play Indiana along the way to prove that his team is ready to take that next step toward West Chester. To do it, the Wildcats will need great goaltending from Adam Toy to steal a couple along the way, in the tradition of great Armstrong/Kittanning goaltenders like Eric ‘Zip’ Zimmerman or Brett Frederick or more recently Aaron Stanley, who have excelled in playoff competition. As the opening faceoff approached, you couldn’t help notice the loose attitude of Indiana and the nervous look on the faces of the California bleached Kittanning Wildcats. In fact, rumors has it if Kittanning advances to Neville Island for the Penguins Cup….that Max and Tim will get a bleach-job [I’d love to see that one]. Indiana wasted no time from the opening faceoff as Dane Bertinazzi who shot one down low, which Toy had to be sharp on as he just got his skate on and deflected into the corner at 14:14. The Indians came right back and struck first as Bryan Schlemmer bang home a rebound at 11:33 for a 1-0 lead. Indiana was all over Kittanning, outshooting them 16-5 in the opening period as Toy came up big on Zach Diamond at 11:14. Luke Heller almost tied the game at 10:10, but Mike Mentsch turn it aside. The Indians had a golden opportunity to take a two goal advantage on a power play with 3:24 remaining, but got whistled for a lazy tripping call in the offensive zone just 21 seconds into the man advantage, which was a huge mental mistake and testimony of the emotions of the opening period. So Kittanning dodged a big bullet and took advantage right off the bat in the second period as Eddie Germy made a heads up play finding Luke Heller, who snapped a shot inside the post to tie the game at 14:30 at one apiece. At this point, Indiana went back to work and continued pressuring the Wildcats but Adam Toy continued to sparkle as he stopped Jayson Vaughn at 10:36 and made a sliding save on Bertinazzi at 6:06. A simple series of two little plays may have changed the complexion of this hockey game as twice Kittanning defenseman Patrick Schneider was able to clear the zone after considerable Indiana pressure and gain some territorial ice for Kittanning towards the end of the 2nd period. The results of that play and a little laziness by the Indiana backline would be a huge break for the Wildcats, as super sophomore Eddie Germy kick the puck out in front to linemate Joel Shriver, who banged it home and gave Kittanning its first lead 2-1 with 2:30 left. Indiana almost tied in on the ensuing faceoff as Aaron Smith had a partial break but shot high over Toy. The Wildcats went on the power play and won the faceoff back to Michael Mecurio, who blasted one down low past Mentsch for a 3-1 lead, a power play goal and sent the Kittanning faithful into a frenzy with just 1:17 remaining and one period away from Rostraver. On to the third period and while Indiana was looking for a spark, Kittanning was looking for the knockout punch. Indiana went on the power play with 9:29 remaining and the best chance to score was Kittanning’s Luke Heller on the breakaway, but Mentsch dove out and poke checked the puck away at 9:01. The next rush up the ice resulted in another penalty and a 5 on 3 for Indiana, but Adam Toy was brilliant stopping several Indiana chances, the best on Zach Diamond on a sliding save across the crease at 7:38. Kittanning was able to kill the penalties, but Corey Mills banged home a rebound at 6:05 off a big scramble in front and the Indians were back in it 3-2. Indiana just dominated the final minutes with a 16-3 shot advantage in the 3rd and 40-14 on the night, but Adam Toy kept them out the rest of the way and paved the road to Rostraver with a 3-2 victory and a date with Thomas Jefferson next Tuesday night.

TJ takes nothing to chance and turns back Canon Mac ! ROSTRAVER – Canon McMillan hockey has had a breakthrough season in 2002-2003, with its first division title edging out West Allegheny, its first playoff victory over Canevin 4-2 last week and its first winning season since 1997. Anything more for Pat Rheam’s club would be icing on the cake, but believe me this is a dangerous team in the playoffs because they have nothing to lose and the effect of the amateur programs at Southpointe has produced some pretty nice talent in the program for the Big Macs and this could be a watershed season for the Big Macs. In a meeting earlier this season CM just fell short losing to TJ 4-3. Thomas Jefferson coach Don Powell has been here before and the dean of Class AA coaches is wary of any team in the playoffs since last years upset at the hands of Hampton. The Jaguars captured the 2nd seed with late season wins at Indiana, South Park and Canevin, but they all seemed to be spoiled by the pastings this season at the hands of division rival and defending champs Peters Twp., who have defeated TJ three times this season. Although Thomas Jefferson has twelve consecutive winnings seasons [176-41-9], three Pennsylvania State Championships, and twelve straight state playoff appearances, coach Powell will not be satisfied until his Jags beat Peters, but to get another shot at them they have to get there. A very calm and cautious first period, Thomas Jefferson grabbed the lead as Eric Holzer scored on the rebound past Chris Watkinson for a 1-0 lead. Canon Mac had an opportunity to tie the game late in the period on the power play but was denied by some excellent penalty killing by the Jaguars. On to the second and TJ extended its lead to 2-0 as defenseman Grant Heinauer blasted home a loose puck from the slot area over the glove hand of Watkinson at 13:39 and the Jaguars had a 2-0 lead. Meanwhile at the other end, Danny Hartman was doing his thing as he stopped Doug Rheam from point blank range with 9:19 remaining in the 2nd. Thomas Jefferson’s Brandon School scored on a breakaway putting TJ in the driver’s seat 3-0 at 7:49. The Jaguars had a golden chance to go up 4-0 but Chris Watkinson made a great save on Luke Wawrzeniak at 7:29 to keep the deficit to three goals. Back came the Big Macs as Doug Rheam tipped a shot from the point past Hartman to get CM on the board with a PPG with 3:27 remaining. Canon Mac was back in the game and Doug Stanton drew them even closer as he buried a wrist shot over the glove side of Hartman and all the sudden it was a one goal hockey game with 2:44 remaining. Anytime you have one goal playoff game, its important to play tight in the final minute, but TJ’s Derek Kelly delivered a big blow to Canon Macs upset bid with a big slapshot which beat Watkinson cleanly with only :29 left in the middle period and a huge insurance goal for the Jaguars. Spurred by Kelly’s goal Thomas Jefferson came out in the third period and played like champions shutting down the Big Macs and Danny Hartman stopped every thing he had to. Billy Barrett sealed the deal with a goal at 12:28 of the third and Thomas Jefferson moved on to Penguin Cup Semi-Finals for the first time since 2000 next week at Rostraver to face either Kittanning or Greensburg CC.

TJ takes nothing to chance and turns back Canon Mac ! ROSTRAVER – Canon McMillan hockey has had a breakthrough season in 2002-2003, with its first division title edging out West Allegheny, its first playoff victory over Canevin 4-2 last week and its first winning season since 1997. Anything more for Pat Rheam’s club would be icing on the cake, but believe me this is a dangerous team in the playoffs because they have nothing to lose and the effect of the amateur programs at Southpointe has produced some pretty nice talent in the program for the Big Macs and this could be a watershed season for the Big Macs. In a meeting earlier this season CM just fell short losing to TJ 4-3. Thomas Jefferson coach Don Powell has been here before and the dean of Class AA coaches is wary of any team in the playoffs since last years upset at the hands of Hampton. The Jaguars captured the 2nd seed with late season wins at Indiana, South Park and Canevin, but they all seemed to be spoiled by the pastings this season at the hands of division rival and defending champs Peters Twp., who have defeated TJ three times this season. Although Thomas Jefferson has twelve consecutive winnings seasons [176-41-9], three Pennsylvania State Championships, and twelve straight state playoff appearances, coach Powell will not be satisfied until his Jags beat Peters, but to get another shot at them they have to get there. A very calm and cautious first period, Thomas Jefferson grabbed the lead as Eric Holzer scored on the rebound past Chris Watkinson for a 1-0 lead. Canon Mac had an opportunity to tie the game late in the period on the power play but was denied by some excellent penalty killing by the Jaguars. On to the second and TJ extended its lead to 2-0 as defenseman Grant Heinauer blasted home a loose puck from the slot area over the glove hand of Watkinson at 13:39 and the Jaguars had a 2-0 lead. Meanwhile at the other end, Danny Hartman was doing his thing as he stopped Doug Rheam from point blank range with 9:19 remaining in the 2nd. Thomas Jefferson’s Brandon School scored on a breakaway putting TJ in the driver’s seat 3-0 at 7:49. The Jaguars had a golden chance to go up 4-0 but Chris Watkinson made a great save on Luke Wawrzeniak at 7:29 to keep the deficit to three goals. Back came the Big Macs as Doug Rheam tipped a shot from the point past Hartman to get CM on the board with a PPG with 3:27 remaining. Canon Mac was back in the game and Doug Stanton drew them even closer as he buried a wrist shot over the glove side of Hartman and all the sudden it was a one goal hockey game with 2:44 remaining. Anytime you have one goal playoff game, its important to play tight in the final minute, but TJ’s Derek Kelly delivered a big blow to Canon Macs upset bid with a big slapshot which beat Watkinson cleanly with only :29 left in the middle period and a huge insurance goal for the Jaguars. Spurred by Kelly’s goal Thomas Jefferson came out in the third period and played like champions shutting down the Big Macs and Danny Hartman stopped every thing he had to. Billy Barrett sealed the deal with a goal at 12:28 of the third and Thomas Jefferson moved on to Penguin Cup Semi-Finals for the first time since 2000 next week at Rostraver to face either Kittanning or Greensburg CC.