Plum Mustangs - 1989 A

CASTLE SHANNON ~ When the PIHL was formed in 1999, the hope was amongst the teams that what would not be lost were the rivalries of the old leagues and one of the great rivalries during the mid to late 1990’s and into the 21st century was South Park – Canevin. Both schools at the time were in the hunt for the Penguins Cup year after year, in fact Canevin captured the Class AA State Championships in 1983, 1984 and 1989 and most recently a trip to the Penguins Cup final in 2000 in Erie where the Crusaders fell short to three time champion Thomas Jefferson in a classic 2-1. Somehow, Canevin hockey has not been the same since, but a little birdie told me that the program could be on the rise including a great developmental program and that little birdie also mentioned that the Crusaders will be back in contention in the next few years. Nonetheless, Canevin is a very young team in 2003-2004 and coach Brian Henderson is working toward the development to bring Canevin back to prominence. South Park is more of a here and now program with a lineup lined with upperclassman and head coach Bob Juha knows that his team has one of the best goaltenders in all of Class AA in Director’s Dozen selection Ian Artim. The Eagles have had their moments this season in upending Peters Twp, but fell to a much improved Canon McMillan squad 3-0 prior to the holiday break. An excellent showing in the Pa Hockey Scholastic Showcase has Eagle fans optimistic that they can push for a possible Penguins Cup semi-final appearance if not more. South Park came out and took control of their game with Canevin from the outset but the young Crusaders hung in there through the games first 10 + minutes in a scoreless tie. Matt Slogan finally broke through with 2:50 remaining in the opening period beating Dan Hertzberg on a wrist shot with 2:50 left in the first. The Eagles took advantage of some sloppy play by the Crusader defense as Jared Miley slammed home a rebound with 1:19 to play to make it 2-0 and just 17 seconds later it was the big man again as Matt Slogan overpowered Hertzberg with a wrist shot and South Park now had a quick 3-0 advantage. After a scoreless and evenly played second period, Canevin looked to close the gap, but Slogan dashed those hopes in finding a loose puck and completing the hat trick with 13:48 remaining in regulation. Ian Artim kept the Crusaders off the board stopping everything Canevin could muster including a Dane Hetland shot from the slot at 6:30 and robbing Hetland with just 3 seconds remaining to put an exclamation point on a 4-0 South Park victory before the usual nice crowd at Ice Castle.