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

CRANBERRY - For Bethel Park things haven't changed much over the past few years.....its like same crowd and different faces as when arriving at 7:00 for the 7:50 faceoff you can still see those Hawks filing out of the locker room for the pregame run, which is a trademark of the Jim McVay tenure. It was a pretty empty building and I enjoyed watching it ! You see, this year North Allegheny and Bethel Park both lost a dozen seniors apiece from last years squads and the Tigers were coming off big wins over Mt Lebanon and Meadville. So would they have the advantage in this big early season contest ? Hey there's a reason the Hawks have three straight Pennsylvania State Championships.....and its has little to do with last games performance and who is in those uniforms and has alot to do with tradition, preparation and belief that every time they step on that ice they are gonna just do it ! Great odds for a program who has only lost in the regular season twice in three years prior to 2002-2003. A fast moving first period and up and back they went in normal NA-BP fashion with tight checking and strong goaltending at both ends by Matt Feige and Bobby Daley. Then at 7:09, Conner McLean shot the puck just wide of the post and the puck caromed off the live boards and found its way onto the stick of Mike Diethorn, who beat Daley on the far post with a shot right on the ice to give Bethel a 1-0 lead. North Allegheny came back just 14 seconds later as the Hawks got caught on a rare odd man break as Brian Maloney found a streaking Joe Smarto who fired another shot down low to tie the game at 1-1. On to the second and Bethel regained the lead at 6:23 as Dale Arnold slammed home a rebound from a Jacobus Bleik shot and the Hawks were back on top. Less than a minute later, Feige robbed Derek Rubarsky with a great save to preserve the lead. Then NA's Daley got into the act as he made a sprawling stop on Steve Miller at 4:43 to keep the Tigers within one. At the start of the third period, Dan Zabkar gave Bethel a two goal cushion as his shot from the point found its way through traffic at 13:58 and past Daley. The score remained 3-1 until Joe Smarto scored on a wrist shot through the five hole at 3:34 and cut the lead to 3-2. NA now pulled the goalie for the extra attacker and had an outstanding opportunity as Joe Rosenberg found a loose puck in the slot but could not beat Feige and the mass of bodies in front of the net and Bethel Park pulled out an exciting 3-2 win.

MOON TWP - The Blackhawk season ended in a series of tiebreakers last season after the Cougars dropped their season finale to Center and missed out on a trip to the playoffs by percentage points. Quaker Valley on the other and saw its West Division title fold in the Belmont Arena in a stinging playoff loss to Freeport. Quaker head coach Kevin Quinn and the Cougars Dave Stepanian are looking to rebound this season and improve their respective finishes from a year ago. QV broke out on top in the first period at 9:35 as Jesse Taylor slipped a great pass by the Blackhawk defender to a streaking Ben Herring, who was bursting down the slot and beat goaltender Jason Brognano to make it 1-0. Herring tallied at the 6:43 mark on a no look pass from a QV teammate to make it 2-0, which the Quakers took to the break. In the second period, Cougar freshman Jake Polas scored a shorthanded tally on the ice past Jed Michael to cut the lead to 2-1 at 9:49. Then Polas played give and go with linemate Chris Fisher, who made a nice cross ice feed to the back door to tie the game at 2-2. Quaker Valley regained the lead as Sam Hairston walked off the boards and snapped a shot upstairs to give the Quakers a 3-2 lead at 3:54 on the power play. Then while killing a disadvantage, it was Hairston again as he picked up a loose puck in the slot and swung around Brognano and lofted the puck past the fallen Cougar goaltender at 2:40 to make the score 4-2. Hairston completed the natural hat trick as he blasted a shot off the faceoff behind the Blackhawk keeper and all the sudden the Quakers broke the game open at 5-2. On to the final period and Chris Fisher redirected a shot past Jed Michael just 11 seconds into the third to cut the lead to 5-3. Then at 8:02, Mike Wylie found brother Matt Wylie with a nice feed and Wylie beat Michael to cut the lead to one. Now the game was tight and it was Hairston who caught Bagnano off the post and tucked a wraparound inside the post and regained a two goal cushion at 6:59 and 6-4. The Quakers killed off the remaining Cougar threats and earned a 6-4 victory.

MOON TWP - The Blackhawk season ended in a series of tiebreakers last season after the Cougars dropped their season finale to Center and missed out on a trip to the playoffs by percentage points. Quaker Valley on the other and saw its West Division title fold in the Belmont Arena in a stinging playoff loss to Freeport. Quaker head coach Kevin Quinn and the Cougars Dave Stepanian are looking to rebound this season and improve their respective finishes from a year ago. QV broke out on top in the first period at 9:35 as Jesse Taylor slipped a great pass by the Blackhawk defender to a streaking Ben Herring, who was bursting down the slot and beat goaltender Jason Brognano to make it 1-0. Herring tallied at the 6:43 mark on a no look pass from a QV teammate to make it 2-0, which the Quakers took to the break. In the second period, Cougar freshman Jake Polas scored a shorthanded tally on the ice past Jed Michael to cut the lead to 2-1 at 9:49. Then Polas played give and go with linemate Chris Fisher, who made a nice cross ice feed to the back door to tie the game at 2-2. Quaker Valley regained the lead as Sam Hairston walked off the boards and snapped a shot upstairs to give the Quakers a 3-2 lead at 3:54 on the power play. Then while killing a disadvantage, it was Hairston again as he picked up a loose puck in the slot and swung around Brognano and lofted the puck past the fallen Cougar goaltender at 2:40 to make the score 4-2. Hairston completed the natural hat trick as he blasted a shot off the faceoff behind the Blackhawk keeper and all the sudden the Quakers broke the game open at 5-2. On to the final period and Chris Fisher redirected a shot past Jed Michael just 11 seconds into the third to cut the lead to 5-3. Then at 8:02, Mike Wylie found brother Matt Wylie with a nice feed and Wylie beat Michael to cut the lead to one. Now the game was tight and it was Hairston who caught Bagnano off the post and tucked a wraparound inside the post and regained a two goal cushion at 6:59 and 6-4. The Quakers killed off the remaining Cougar threats and earned a 6-4 victory.

Check out the Final Standings through Friday 2/28/03 for Week 17 Final Pittsburgh Post Gazette and Western Pa Hockey Rankings Elite 8 - Week 17 !!

Check out the Final Standings through Friday 2/28/03 for Week 17 Final Pittsburgh Post Gazette and Western Pa Hockey Rankings Elite 8 - Week 17 !!