Plum Mustangs - 1989 A

ROSTRAVER ~ 1/12/04 ~ EF gets a big win over Forest Hills in wild finish ! Elizabeth Forward coach Chuck Beckinger knows his team can play with the best teams in the league as they almost upended highly ranked Serra and Blackhawk, but have fallen to teams under .500 like Wheeling Central Catholic and Deer Lakes. This inconsistency has Warrior fans scratching their heads, but a look at the lineup will give many clues as a balance of veterans and youth are very evident for EF. The Warriors came into the game at 7-6-0 and were looking to make ground in the race for home ice advantage in the playoffs. Forest Hills coach Bob Salata would like to steal a page out of Beckinger’s playbook as the Rangers have lost only to Serra and Bishop McCort, but neither game was much of a contest 1-10 and 0-4, respectively. The Rangers have had a great season though at 7-2-1 and ranked # 6 in the latest Pa Hockey Elite 8 poll. Maybe that is a reflection of a week Class A field, but coach Salata knows there are teams the Rangers must beat if they hope to become a contender in the playoffs and Elizabeth Forward and FH could meet when the playoff bell rings in less than two months. The first period was back and forth and the shots were pretty even at 10-9 in favor of Elizabeth Forward. Since it took me almost two years to cover either of these two teams, I was scrambling to familiarize myself with each team and noticed some players that I have never witnessed play before if you can believe that, which frankly is the beauty of Pa Hockey…..seeing some fresh talent and new players ! Dustin Siplivy got things started for the Rangers as he weaved his way down the slot and took a wrist shot on EF freshman goalie Mike Cole, who made the save, but kicked out the rebound where Siplivy gathered it and buried a shot on the stick side to give Forest Hills a 1-0 lead early in the 2nd period. Then at 9:34, the Warriors struck as Brian Doak beat the Forest Hills defense and fed Jeremy Delmaster, who beat FH’s Kyle Single on the backhand to tie the game at 9:34. Forest Hills tried to intimidate EF with its size but that seemed to inspire the Warriors as Delmaster hit the post at 2:02 and Brian Doak almost put his team ahead with 52 seconds remaining in the middle frame as EF took a 22-19 advantage to the locker room. On to the third and both teams had chances to go ahead but Kyle Single stopped Matt Mitchko and Jeremy Delmaster on great chances at 10:19 and Mike Cole turned back the Rnager’s Bryan Parkinson at 7:47. The big break came at 3:13, when Delmaster beat the Forest Hills defense and was in on the breakaway and the beaten FH defenseman threw his stick, which referee whistled for a penalty shot after Delmaster fell off his feet. The most exciting play in hockey and the sparse crowd on its feet, Delmaster moved in on Kyle Single and went to the forehand through the 5-hole, giving Elizabeth Forward its first lead 2-1. EF would hold on as FH pulled the goalie with under a minute to play and Billy Repass added an empty netter to give the Warriors a 3-1 win in a thriller at Rostraver.

~ Ice Line Extravaganza Class AAA Monday 12/29 Loyola Academy __4___ Archbishop Ryan __1___ Malvern Prep __7__ West Chester East ___4__ St Mary's ___4__ Loyola Academy ___3__ Malvern Prep _10____ Archbishop Ryan __3___ St. Mary's ___6__ West Chester East __4___ Tuesday 12/30 Malvern Prep _5___Loyola Academy __3__ West Chester East __10___Archbishop Ryan __2__ St. Mary's __11___ Archbishop Ryan __3___ Loyola Academy __3___ West Chester East __0___ St. Mary's __3__ Malvern Prep __2__ Wednesday 12/31 St Mary's __5____ Malvern Prep __4__ [OT] Class AA Monday 12/29 Springfield __5___ Haverford High __3___ Archbishop Wood __7___Downingtown __1___ Kittanning __5___ Calvert Hall Prep __0___ Monsignor Farrell __7___ vs. Neshaminy __1___ Kittanning __5___Haverford High ___2__ Archbishop Wood ___7__ vs. Neshaminy __1___ Springfield ___6__ vs. Calvert Hall Prep __2___ Downingtown __3___ vs. Monsignor Farrell __2___ Tuesday 12/30 Kittanning __2___ vs. Springfield __0___ 11:00 AM 1 Neshaminy __4__ vs. Downingtown __4__ 11:00 AM 4 Haverford High __7__ vs. Calvert Hall Prep __0__ 11:15 AM 3 Archbishop Wood __3__ vs. Monsignor Farrell __1__ Semi-Finals Downingtown 4 Kittanning 3 Archbishop Wood 4 Springfield 2 Wednesday 12/31 Championship Archbishop Wood 6 Downingtown 1 Class A Monday 12/29 Great Valley __2___ Malvern Prep II ___1__ Coatesville ___7__ Conestoga ___5__ West Chester East II __5___ Anville Cleona __2___ LaSalle II __9___ Dematha ___2__ Shanahan __2___ St. Mary's ___2__ Conestoga __7___ DeMatha ___1__ Malvern Prep II ___4__ West Chester East II ___3__ LaSalle II ___3__ Coatesville __1___ Great Valley ___6__St. Mary's ___2__ Shanahan ___5__ Anville Cleona ___0__ Tuesday 12/30 West Chester East II 7 St. Mary's 1 Great Valley 7 Anville Cleona 1 Shanahan 5 Malvern Prep II 1 Coatesville 7 DeMatha 0 LaSalle II 3 Conestoga 1 Tuesday 12/30 Semi-Finals West Chester East II 2 LaSalle 1 Shanahan 2 Great Valley 1 [OT] Wednesday 12/31 Championship West Chester II 4 Bishop Shanahan 1

Mt Lebanon Recreation Center Invitational December 26-30 Monday 12/29: Semi Final - Mt Lebanon 3 Montour 0 Semi Final - Thomas Jefferson 4 Canon McMillan 2 Tuesday 12/30 5th Place Game - North Hills 4 Baldwin 4 Championship Game - Mt Lebanon 4 Thomas Jefferson 1 Highlights: Eric Sloan - Tony Valerino - Chad Uddstrom and Bill Leckenby scored for Lebo and Luke Warzeniack scored the lone TJ goal .... Preliminary Round Friday 12/26 : Montour 3 Baldwin 2 Canon McMillan 2 North Hills 1 Saturday 12/27: Thomas Jefferson 3 Montour 1 Mt Lebanon 4 Canon McMillan 1 Sunday 12/28: Thomas Jefferson 8 Baldwin 1 Mt Lebanon 3 North Hills 1

NEVILLE ISLAND ~ Sewickley Academy coach Erik Hoolihan is looking forward to the programs first winning season in their program’s history and subsequent playoff berth. The Panthers have had a great start to their season, but have been sidetracked by losses to Blackhawk, Westmont Hilltop, Quaker Valley and most recently a tough 3-2 decision to Wheeling Park. SA is looking to put itself in position for a home berth in the playoffs and needs to knock off some teams ahead of them to accomplish that. Somerset on the other hand has had a breakthrough season with a group of players, who know each other and their coach Cliff Ziegler well. The Eagles are undefeated and a Serra loss to Quaker Valley earlier in the week has Somerset knocking at the # 1 ranking in Western Pennsylvania. The line Bret Ziegler, freshman Cullen Eddy and Matt Rouch has shredded opposing defensive units for astronomical numbers leaving some to question who Somerset has played, but lets not kid anyone these kids are talented and can score, which could be trouble for the rest of Class A. The Eagles are anxiously awaiting their big game with rival Bishop McCort, which was changed from next week to the 29th of January and according to the Somerset folks, they just found out about it, which is par for the course for the PIHL, who notifies no one about game changes, until the last minute of course. The first period was an offensive display by Somerset as they pelted Sewickley Academy goalkeeper Peter Dimmick with very good scoring opportunites. At 12:20, Dimmick stopped Cullen Eddy after a nice feed by Ziegler. Just 17 seconds later, it was Bret Ziegler who Dimmick stopped. Not to be outdone, the rangy Panther goaltender stopped both Ziegler and Eddy again at 10:52. Wes Cramer, the Somerset goalie, saw little action in the first, the best chance coming as Alec Shannon rang one off the post at 6:29 in a scoreless opening period. On to the 2nd and it didn’t take long for the Eagles to strike as Matt Hay found the loose puck and beat Dimmick to give Somerset a 1-0 lead at 14:05. Dimmick kept the advantage just a goal as he stopped Cullen Eddy again with 7:17 remaining in the period. The momentum looked to be switching as Sewickley Academy found itself on a 5 on 3 power play at 7:17, but the Eagles stiffened and only allowed a couple of shots during the advantage and only 7 shots through the first two periods. Then a backbreaking goal as Cullen Eddy finally solved Dimmick on a great individual effort walking the Panther defense and slamming home a shot past the SA goalie with just 1:05 remaining for a huge goal and a 2-0 lead at the end of two periods. Somerset extinguished any thoughts of a comeback just 17 ticks into the third as Matt Rouch took a great pass from Ziegler and buried it past Dimmick for a 3-0 lead. Sewickley mounted a challenge in the middle of the third and tallied 12 shots in the final period, but Wes Cramer stopped them all, the best save coming on a Trevor Heck wrist shot at 7:49. The Eagles closed out the game scoring goals in the waning moments as Eddy scored on a beautiful backhand to the upper corner at 2:44 and Bret Zeigler wheeled through the slot and scored with 45 seconds left to put the cap on an impressive 5-0 win over Sewickley Academy and capture the # 1 ranking in Class A.