Peters Twp Indians - 2014 AAA 2002-2003-2005 AA

Franklin Regional 2 Moon 1 CORAOPOLIS – Moon (13-5-1) and Franklin Regional (13-6-1) are two teams in the Class AA landscape that have had pretty good seasons. If you take into account that the Panthers started the season 1-4 in their return to Class AA, FR is now 12-2-1 since the end of November with losses to division foes Greensburg CC and Indiana, this is a team that has done so under the radar which is probably how Head Coach Jim Daugherty would like to keep it but a victory over the Tigers will open a few eyes as Franklin will have their season finale Monday with # 1 ranked and defending State Class AA Champions Pine Richland. Meanwhile, the Tigers have only lost in the 2nd half of the season to Pine Richland and Thomas Jefferson and have really been a consistent club throughout the regular season playing a disciplined style of hockey to put together one of the better seasons in Moon history. This game will have significance in the final bye in Class AA after the Tigers face # 2 Latrobe next week and the regular season winds up. The winner of this contest will assume the inside track on the 4th and final bye and home ice advantage should both teams be unable or unable to knock off higher ranked opponents. Franklin came out in the opening 15 minutes and carried the play to Moon outshooting the Tigers 15-5, but Tiger goaltender Matt Wynn held FR off the board in a scoreless first period. The game remained scoreless deep into the second until with 6:01 remaining, Joe DeNardo lit the lamp to give Moon a 1-0 lead. Franklin Regional ties the score later in the period as freshman Steven Shirk was set up by Eugene Mack and gave the Panthers a 1-1 tie with 2:36 to play in the period. FR held a 19-10 shot advantage, but the score was tied after two periods. FR started the final period on the power play and was unable to capitalize. With 10:40 to go in regulation, Carl Richter fired a long lead pass through center ice that Ryan Kramer plucked out of the air and beat the Moon defense and was in on the breakaway and beat Matt Wynn on the forehand to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead. Moon went on the power play with 8:49 to go but FR effectively killed it off and held a slim lead. Moon’s Matt Reese took a long shot that hit the crossbar with 4:30 to go and the Panthers clung to their lead. FR got a power play with 2:42 to go and was unable to score the insurance goal and gave the Tigers a chance to pull their goaltender, which they did, but were unable to score as Anthony Livecchi closed the door and Franklin Regional scored a huge win on the road keeping their hopes alive for a bye and home playoff berth.

Franklin Regional 2 Moon 1 CORAOPOLIS – Moon (13-5-1) and Franklin Regional (13-6-1) are two teams in the Class AA landscape that have had pretty good seasons. If you take into account that the Panthers started the season 1-4 in their return to Class AA, FR is now 12-2-1 since the end of November with losses to division foes Greensburg CC and Indiana, this is a team that has done so under the radar which is probably how Head Coach Jim Daugherty would like to keep it but a victory over the Tigers will open a few eyes as Franklin will have their season finale Monday with # 1 ranked and defending State Class AA Champions Pine Richland. Meanwhile, the Tigers have only lost in the 2nd half of the season to Pine Richland and Thomas Jefferson and have really been a consistent club throughout the regular season playing a disciplined style of hockey to put together one of the better seasons in Moon history. This game will have significance in the final bye in Class AA after the Tigers face # 2 Latrobe next week and the regular season winds up. The winner of this contest will assume the inside track on the 4th and final bye and home ice advantage should both teams be unable or unable to knock off higher ranked opponents. Franklin came out in the opening 15 minutes and carried the play to Moon outshooting the Tigers 15-5, but Tiger goaltender Matt Wynn held FR off the board in a scoreless first period. The game remained scoreless deep into the second until with 6:01 remaining, Joe DeNardo lit the lamp to give Moon a 1-0 lead. Franklin Regional ties the score later in the period as freshman Steven Shirk was set up by Eugene Mack and gave the Panthers a 1-1 tie with 2:36 to play in the period. FR held a 19-10 shot advantage, but the score was tied after two periods. FR started the final period on the power play and was unable to capitalize. With 10:40 to go in regulation, Carl Richter fired a long lead pass through center ice that Ryan Kramer plucked out of the air and beat the Moon defense and was in on the breakaway and beat Matt Wynn on the forehand to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead. Moon went on the power play with 8:49 to go but FR effectively killed it off and held a slim lead. Moon’s Matt Reese took a long shot that hit the crossbar with 4:30 to go and the Panthers clung to their lead. FR got a power play with 2:42 to go and was unable to score the insurance goal and gave the Tigers a chance to pull their goaltender, which they did, but were unable to score as Anthony Livecchi closed the door and Franklin Regional scored a huge win on the road keeping their hopes alive for a bye and home playoff berth.

Bethel Park 3 McDowell 2 ERIE – The Bethel Park Hockey program has made a bold step to separate themselves from the rest of Class AAA in 07-08. Not only does the majority of Jim McVay’s club play on the Phantoms Split Season team, but the Hawks have made a huge commitment to play in the best competition possible on the weekends, including several trips to Cleveland and Western NY to hone their run for the 2007 Penguins Cup and Pennsylvania State Championship. Bethel is now 16-0-1 and ranked # 1 in Western Pennsylvania and appears to have the inside track on the 6 other contenders, who will occupy seeds 2-7 in the Class AAA playoffs. McDowell’s Nels White had a goal for 2007 to become part of the exclusive club, which includes Bethel, Mt Lebanon, Central Catholic, North Allegheny, Meadville and Upper St Clair, who have dominated the Class AAA landscape over the past half to a dozen years and seem to have their programs ready every year for a playoff run. The Trojans have not tasted the Penguins Cup Semis since the PIHL was founded in 1999 and would really like to become an annual contender. McDowell has made some significant strides in their play in the league and outside of the league this season and appears ready to make a move in the Class AAA. Tonight’s contest with Bethel Park would be one more test to measure their progress over this season and maybe give the program confidence that it can compete with the big boys when it counts a little less than three weeks from now. The Trojans opened the scoring early in the first period as freshman Shane Reese threw the puck to the net and Jimmy Martin beat the Hawk defenseman to the puck and chipped it past Pete Cosentino to give McDowell a 1-0 lead. The Hawks tied it with 7:43 of the first period as Graham Cohen picked up a rebound and beat Ericcson on a typical BP goal with hard work to make it 1-1. In a very evenly played opening period, shots were eight apiece. On to the second and McDowell continued to gain confidence against # 1 Bethel with action at both ends. The Trojans would take the lead at 8:55 of the middle period as Nick DiSanti cashed in on a rebound from right in front of the net beating Pete Cosentino to give McDowell a 2-1 lead. With 5:56 to go in the 2nd period, the Trojans had a golden opportunity to extend their lead on the power play, but took a penalty to nullify that chance. The Hawks took advantage of that momentum swing as Bryan Brown made a real nice play from the right point to wrist the puck to the net through traffic, which appeared to hit something in front and found the outside corner of the net just inside the post to tie the game 2-2 with 2:38 to go in the period. McDowell held the advantage in shots at 11-8 in the period, but Bethel held the territorial advantage late in the period and took the lead as Tommy Whetsel’s rebound was gathered by Matt Quigley, who deposited the go ahead goal behind Ericcson to give Bethel Park a slim 3-2 lead heading to the ice cut with just :28 remaining before the break. On to the third period and McDowell was looking for the equalizer and almost got it as Shane Reese had Cosentino beat but his shot just glanced off the side of the net and the score remained 3-2 in favor of the Hawks. The Trojans next big chance came on the power play with 7:48 to go, but Bethel Park dug in and with great corner work would not let the Trojan have any room nor any chances. McDowell pulled the goalie, but BP played excellent defense and the Trojans could not get close as Bethel Park earned a very impressive 3-2 win at the Erie Civic Center and remained unbeaten and locked down the # 1 seed in the upcoming playoffs. For McDowell, a close call, which might mean the Trojans will more than likely be on the road for round 2 of the playoffs in a very tight race for seeding that will transpire over the closing weeks.

Bethel Park 3 McDowell 2 ERIE – The Bethel Park Hockey program has made a bold step to separate themselves from the rest of Class AAA in 07-08. Not only does the majority of Jim McVay’s club play on the Phantoms Split Season team, but the Hawks have made a huge commitment to play in the best competition possible on the weekends, including several trips to Cleveland and Western NY to hone their run for the 2007 Penguins Cup and Pennsylvania State Championship. Bethel is now 16-0-1 and ranked # 1 in Western Pennsylvania and appears to have the inside track on the 6 other contenders, who will occupy seeds 2-7 in the Class AAA playoffs. McDowell’s Nels White had a goal for 2007 to become part of the exclusive club, which includes Bethel, Mt Lebanon, Central Catholic, North Allegheny, Meadville and Upper St Clair, who have dominated the Class AAA landscape over the past half to a dozen years and seem to have their programs ready every year for a playoff run. The Trojans have not tasted the Penguins Cup Semis since the PIHL was founded in 1999 and would really like to become an annual contender. McDowell has made some significant strides in their play in the league and outside of the league this season and appears ready to make a move in the Class AAA. Tonight’s contest with Bethel Park would be one more test to measure their progress over this season and maybe give the program confidence that it can compete with the big boys when it counts a little less than three weeks from now. The Trojans opened the scoring early in the first period as freshman Shane Reese threw the puck to the net and Jimmy Martin beat the Hawk defenseman to the puck and chipped it past Pete Cosentino to give McDowell a 1-0 lead. The Hawks tied it with 7:43 of the first period as Graham Cohen picked up a rebound and beat Ericcson on a typical BP goal with hard work to make it 1-1. In a very evenly played opening period, shots were eight apiece. On to the second and McDowell continued to gain confidence against # 1 Bethel with action at both ends. The Trojans would take the lead at 8:55 of the middle period as Nick DiSanti cashed in on a rebound from right in front of the net beating Pete Cosentino to give McDowell a 2-1 lead. With 5:56 to go in the 2nd period, the Trojans had a golden opportunity to extend their lead on the power play, but took a penalty to nullify that chance. The Hawks took advantage of that momentum swing as Bryan Brown made a real nice play from the right point to wrist the puck to the net through traffic, which appeared to hit something in front and found the outside corner of the net just inside the post to tie the game 2-2 with 2:38 to go in the period. McDowell held the advantage in shots at 11-8 in the period, but Bethel held the territorial advantage late in the period and took the lead as Tommy Whetsel’s rebound was gathered by Matt Quigley, who deposited the go ahead goal behind Ericcson to give Bethel Park a slim 3-2 lead heading to the ice cut with just :28 remaining before the break. On to the third period and McDowell was looking for the equalizer and almost got it as Shane Reese had Cosentino beat but his shot just glanced off the side of the net and the score remained 3-2 in favor of the Hawks. The Trojans next big chance came on the power play with 7:48 to go, but Bethel Park dug in and with great corner work would not let the Trojan have any room nor any chances. McDowell pulled the goalie, but BP played excellent defense and the Trojans could not get close as Bethel Park earned a very impressive 3-2 win at the Erie Civic Center and remained unbeaten and locked down the # 1 seed in the upcoming playoffs. For McDowell, a close call, which might mean the Trojans will more than likely be on the road for round 2 of the playoffs in a very tight race for seeding that will transpire over the closing weeks.

Latrobe 4 Thomas Jefferson 2 GREENSBURG – In a battle of division leaders, Latrobe (14-4-0) and Thomas Jefferson (13-4-2) are currently in the 2nd and 3rd seed positions entering the final weeks of the regular season. Coach Ron Makoski’s Wildcats have been pretty steady with the exception of a 3-1 loss to Indiana and have played many of the bottom feeders in Class AA that have dominated the second half schedule. A match-up with Thomas Jefferson, winners of seven straight after opening the second half loss to South Park. Coach Don Powell’s team is looking to hold down a bye and maintain the 2nd or 3rd seed position to avoid Pine Richland in the Penguins Cup semis. Both teams can ill-afford a loss with Moon, Franklin Regional and Hampton within striking distance of supplanting either team should they slide. Latrobe’s Ryan LaDuke opened the scoring at 10:47 of the first period as he walked down the middle of the ice and beat Spencer Neel with a wrist shot on the stick side to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. At 9:44 of the first the Jaguars went on the power play, which Latrobe killed and then the Wildcats went on the man advantage at 6:18 and a 5 on 3 for a half minute at 4:52, but it was Brock Heinauer who beat the Latrobe defense to the puck and beat Nick Loyacona on the forehand at 4:21 to tie the score at 1-1. That was shortlived as Jeff Joe Regula buried a slapshot from the top of the right circle with 4:03 to go to give the Cats a 2-1 lead. Shots were 5-3 in favor of Latrobe in the opening period. Latrobe took a two-goal advantage at 11:41 as JeffJoe Regula was set up on a beautiful cross-ice pass by Michael McCurdy. The Jaguars rebounded at 11:22 as Danny Joseph scored on a rebound to make it 3-2. Michael McCurdy scored from on the doorstep at 4:14 and Latrobe regained its two-goal lead 4-2. TJ went on the power play in the final two minutes of the 2nd period but could not score as the shots were 13-9 in favor of the Cats and they took a 4-2 lead to the ice cut. At 12:56 of the third period, the Jaguars had an opportunity on the power play, which got even better at 11:59 on a 5 on 3 and nearly scored at 11:36 on a wild scramble in front. The Wildcats did a very effective job killing the penalties after a few near misses and the lead was still two. Nick Loyacona made a terrific sprawling save at 9:36 on Joe Sabol, who thought the puck went in. With 7:32 to go, the Jags had another chance that was unsuccessful and yet another chance with 5:15 to go but Nick Loyacona stopped all twelve shots generated by TJ in the third and looked very sharp in doing so. The Jaguars could not score despite outshooting the Wildcats 27-21 and Latrobe earned a 4-2 win over Thomas Jefferson.