Plum Mustangs - 1989 A

JOHNSTOWN- Yes Johnstown ….where Mr. Haney made his first appearance or disappearance if you will. Surely, this trip would yield some Green Acres moments, especially after an 11-0 drubbing Tuesday night at the hands of North Allegheny University in Cranberry, coach Ron ‘Eb Dawson’ Steedle and myself,were looking forward to the game. As we pulled into the War Memorial, you could see the Crimson usher faithful filing in for another rendition of Serra – McCort. Amazingly, a parking space just 10 feet or so from the side entrance. Like Sam Drucker, I fumbled my camera and laptop to find my credentials to present at the door, would it be the postmaster or possibly the reporter or the store owner. You see the more things that things at Drucker’s store in Hooterville, the more they remained the same. Must I remind the McCort faithful or John Bradley of The 2000 Penguins Cup final – Serra 4 Bishop McCort 1 or The 2001 Penguins Cup final – Serra 6 Bishop McCort 3 or The 2002 Penguins Cup final – Serra 3 Bishop McCort 0 or The 2003 Penguins Cup semi-final – Serra 4 Bishop McCort 1 or The 2004 Penguins Cup final – Serra 5 Bishop McCort 2 or perhaps the game earlier this season at Rostraver won again by Serra 6 Bishop McCort 4. Tom Mooney’s Eagles had to feel great about their # 1 Pa Hockey Elite 8 ranking and the 18-0-0 perfect record and their mastery over McCort. For the Crimson Crushers, they are riding a wave into this game with 11 straight victories and a team that seems to be peaking for the upcoming playoffs. Bishop McCort also had an ace in the hole, as Serra was the last remaining undefeated team left in Western Pa Hockey, and the last two weeks have watched two unbeaten teams, Bethel Park and Canon McMillan fall from the ranks of no losses. So Ron ‘Eb’ stated ‘Hey, you are a curse for undefeated hockey teams. Look at what you did to Bethel and Canon Mac.” The 1st period featured some good action at both end and McCort had a few chances in which they missed the net. Serra would strike first as Aaron Nolte scored on a rebound of a Josh Jones rebound at 2:19 to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. The Crushers would tie it as Shawn James scored on a backhand through the 5-hole past Nick Koroly for a 1-1 tie. The goaltending in the 2nd period was good as Serra’s Nick Koroly and McCort’s Ron Stenger stopped several key chances. The third period of hockey would keep the fans at the War Memorial on the edge of their seat throughout and didn’t take long to heat up as Ray Gillis took a Tyler Burda feed and burst with speed around the McCort defense and undressed Ron Stenger with a great move on the forehand at 14:03 to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead. The Crimson Crushers came right back and would not be denied as Marc Domonkos scored on his own rebound at 12:30. Serra came right back as Aaron Nolte showed why he is considered one of the most dangerous players in Class A as he converted a funny bounce past Stenger to give Serra the lead 3-2 at 8:43 after some nice work by linemates Justin Lubasch and Joey Manning. Back came the Crimson Crushers and after Domonkos almost beat Nick Koroly at 8:13, it would be David Champe, who found a loose puck at the feet of a Serra defenseman and flung a shot past the Eagle netminder to tie the game with 7:40 left. McCort would go on the power play at 5:57, as Serra was whistled for a slash behind the play and the Eagles would have the best scoring chance as Ron Stenger had to be tough on a Joey Manning slapshot shorthanded at 4:48. The Crimson Crushers would strike the fatal blow next as Cory Mock rifled a slapshot from just inside the faceoff circle on the ice under the stick of Nick Koroly to give McCort its first lead 4-3 with just 2:39 remaining in regulation. Ray Gillis had a great opportunity to tie the game with the goalie pulled, but Ron Stenger stopped him with 47 seconds left and McCort scored 2 empty net goals to make the final 6-3 in a possible preview of the 2005 Penguins between two schools who have been to the dance every year [except 1998] since 1994.