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

CHICAGO - A special report from Pa Hockey So Team Pittsburgh defeated New York and California in the opening two games of the 2006 Chicago Showcase and with a 2-0 record to guarantee a spot in the quarter-finals on Saturday. Now the fun is to begin as they would have the honor of sharing the ice with Team Minnesota, the same team who has won the Chicago Showcase countless times over the years under the late great coach Ted Brill and more recently under Dave Hendrickson, who is a joy to talk to every time one comes to the rink and I have gotten to know over the past few years. Last year's schooling of Team Pittsburgh 7-1 in the semi-finals would be a reminder to the returning players of last years team of the significance of Minnesota High School Hockey to the rest of the United States as a leader of the sport and how programs should model and conduct themselves in this sport. As a casual fan its just a thrill to watch our boys from Western Pa match up against the 'Institution' of Interscholastic Sports in America. Former Team Pittsburgh players Ryan Vesely of Greensburg CC and Chris Perry of Hempfield were on hand with their Team Pittsburgh to cheer on the team, seven years removed from Team Pittsburgh's lone trip to the finals in 1999, a 6-2 setback to no other than Team Minnesota. The early part of this contest consisted of some penalty killing by Team Pittsburgh of the lethal Minnesota power play and some great goaltending by Thomas Jefferson's Cody Krynock, who is a great story because he didn't start tendinmg goal for the Jaguars until January after a stint on defense. Team Minnesota had a better of the chances and the shot advantage at 10-6 but the opening 17 minutes was a fast paced scoreless tie. The second period Team Pttsburgh would get a golden opportunity at 16:07 as Brock Heinauer kept the play alive in the Minnesota zone and Chris Urso found Timmy O'Brien on the back door who just missed and Urso banged home the rebound to give Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead. Minnesota kept plugging away at Pittsburgh and capitalized on a turnover as Brian McMillin fired a low slapshot past Cody Krynock at 11:57 to tie the game at one apiece. Pittsburgh failed to clear the zone again at 5:26 and McMillin was open again on the weak side beating Krynock on a slapper to give Minnsota a 2-1 lead. Pittsburgh did start to get more chances late in the period with a 12-11 shot advantage and almost ties it at the buzzer as Timmy O'Brien and Brock Heinauer both had great chances, but Minnesota goaltender Alex Petersen made a spectacular save throwing his body at the loose puck and keeping Minnesota in front 2-1 at the ice cut. So Pittsburgh had to be satisfied playing the Minnesota team to a one goal game and could have settled for the great effort guys speech, but this team would be tested even further when they put Minnesota on the power play at 15:17 and then yielded a PPG goal at 14:43 as Alex Braden redirected a pass past Krynock after some excellent puck movement to make it 3-1 in favor of Minnesota. Matt Bartkowski hit both posts on a slapshot at 13:30 and the deficit remained two. Moments later Pittsburgh dug another hole with a penalty at 13:02, but was able to kill it off and gain a little momentum. A power play came their way at 11:26 that turned into a 5 on 3 at 10:19 putting Pittsburgh in a nice position to get back in the game. Then Tean Pittsburgh seized the moment as they moved the puck quickley and Kevin Miller beat Petersen on a wrist shot low to the glove side to cut the lead to 3-2 with 9:05 remaining in a definite change of momentum. Pittsburgh turned up their game and applied the pressure to Minnesota with 6 1/2 left in regulation. Josh Fodor, who has been part of Team Pittsburgh's best forward lines with Ferguson and Mandic at both ends of the ice showed great patience and found a wide open Kevin Pawlos on the doorstep, who made no mistake and buried a wrist shot high up under the crossbar past Petersen with 4:56 to play to knot the score at 3-3 in a dramatic turnaround. With 3:32 remaining, Josh Mandic gathered the loose puck in the neutral zone and found two streaking linemates creating a 3 on 1 and as Josh Fodor drove the Minnesota defenseman to the net, Shane Ferguson served as the trailer and took a nice feed from Mandic and buried it low to the glove side erupting the Pittsburgh bench and the Team Pittsburgh faithful in attendance giving the a 4-3 lead. Team Pittsburgh played to win in the final minutes and penned up Minnesota in their zone with quick shifts and tenacious forechecking to seal a monumental victory for this team and a watershed win for Western Pennsylvania hockey, who is now on the map and this group can relish an accomplishment 22 years in the making. Coach Paul Taibi showed his class by presenting team manager Dev Klasnick with the game puck for his 22 years of service and class to Team Pittsburgh, who is now the # 1 seed heading to the quarter-finals of the 2006 Chicago Showcase. Sounds nice..............but it was a great thrill to watch and people from Western Pa should really be proud of this great moment !

CHICAGO - A special report for the 2006 Chicago Showcase Many people who attended the 2005 Chicago Showcase walked away amazed after Team Pittsburgh's stunning four goal rally late in the 3rd period to defeat defending champions of the Chicago Showcase California 5-4. This game would serve as a rematch of sorts as California would have a chance at redemption from a year ago. Should Team Pittsburgh be able to defeat California again, they wuld clinch a spot in Saturday's Quarter-Finals and face Minnesota, who soundly defeated Pittsburgh a year ago in the Semi-Finals, for the top spot in the A bracket. California took advantage of an early power play at 11:22 of the opening period scoring on a wrist shot from the center point, which eluded Bryan Ross for a 1-0 lead. Pittsburgh would answer as Phil Trombetta would bang home a Matt Bartkowski rebound to knot the score at one apiece. Pittsburgh held a 12-7 shot advantage in the opening period. On to the second period and Pittsburgh would play opportunist shorthanded as Josh Fodor buried a snapshot high over the glove side of Adam Krauss at 16:22 after a terrific steal and feed by Shane Ferguson to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead. Kruase robbed Brendan Conlon with a sliding save with 9:18 remaining to keep it a one goal game as Pittsburgh increased the territorial advantage at 7-4 for the second period. Pittsburgh would start the third period with a fibe minute power play which was partially killed off by some aqgressive penalty killing by Team California. Pittsburgh continue to dominate play in the third period and capitalized on their next man advantage as Matt Bartkowski scored on a big slapshot after a perfect feed from Phil Trombetta at 11:51 to make it 3-1 and again at 10:23 as Josh Mandic coverted a cross ice feed from Kevin Miller to increase the lead to 4-1. Team Pittsburgh outshot California 11-3 in the final period and continued to pressure them in mistakes. Timmy O'Brien hit the post on a nice setup by Chris Urso at 7:09, but Alan Halipin would put an exclamation point on a 5-1 victory for Team Pittsburgh just moments later as he intercepted an errant clearing pass and beat Krause to the glove side. The win sets up a battle for the top spot in the A bracket against Minnesota tomorrow evening at the Edge in Bensenville.

CHICAGO - A special report for the 2006 Chicago Showcase Many people who attended the 2005 Chicago Showcase walked away amazed after Team Pittsburgh's stunning four goal rally late in the 3rd period to defeat defending champions of the Chicago Showcase California 5-4. This game would serve as a rematch of sorts as California would have a chance at redemption from a year ago. Should Team Pittsburgh be able to defeat California again, they wuld clinch a spot in Saturday's Quarter-Finals and face Minnesota, who soundly defeated Pittsburgh a year ago in the Semi-Finals, for the top spot in the A bracket. California took advantage of an early power play at 11:22 of the opening period scoring on a wrist shot from the center point, which eluded Bryan Ross for a 1-0 lead. Pittsburgh would answer as Phil Trombetta would bang home a Matt Bartkowski rebound to knot the score at one apiece. Pittsburgh held a 12-7 shot advantage in the opening period. On to the second period and Pittsburgh would play opportunist shorthanded as Josh Fodor buried a snapshot high over the glove side of Adam Krauss at 16:22 after a terrific steal and feed by Shane Ferguson to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead. Kruase robbed Brendan Conlon with a sliding save with 9:18 remaining to keep it a one goal game as Pittsburgh increased the territorial advantage at 7-4 for the second period. Pittsburgh would start the third period with a fibe minute power play which was partially killed off by some aqgressive penalty killing by Team California. Pittsburgh continue to dominate play in the third period and capitalized on their next man advantage as Matt Bartkowski scored on a big slapshot after a perfect feed from Phil Trombetta at 11:51 to make it 3-1 and again at 10:23 as Josh Mandic coverted a cross ice feed from Kevin Miller to increase the lead to 4-1. Team Pittsburgh outshot California 11-3 in the final period and continued to pressure them in mistakes. Timmy O'Brien hit the post on a nice setup by Chris Urso at 7:09, but Alan Halipin would put an exclamation point on a 5-1 victory for Team Pittsburgh just moments later as he intercepted an errant clearing pass and beat Krause to the glove side. The win sets up a battle for the top spot in the A bracket against Minnesota tomorrow evening at the Edge in Bensenville.

2006 Pennsylvania High School Hockey Championships – Class A Quaker Valley 9 Penncrest 2 NEVILLE ISLAND – The Penncrest Lions have been on a joy ride since last March as the Lions started their journey to their first ever Flyers Cup A Championship defeating Central Bucks West and then continued their voyage at the Hersheypark Arena with a heartstopping 5-3 victory over Bishop McCort to capture the Pennnsylvania Class A title. For head coach Steve Mescanti, the thrill of being champions and the honor to defend their title has even been more enjoyable. The Lions were not the favorites to repeat as Springfield and Hershey move ahead in the Flyers Cup A seedings as the Inter-County Scholastic Hockey League playoffs saw Penncrest get bounced as Springfield capture a title, which has been a prelude to State Championships the past three years as Penncrest and before the Radnor for two years have gone on to win the Pennsylvania State Title. So when the Lions and Cougars of Springfield matched up in the 2006 Flyers Cup, conventional wisdom and momentum was against Penncrest, but Mescanti’s boys edged their rivals from the ICSHL 1-0 and captured a date in this State final. Quaker Valley’s journey has been a lot longer than most but the trip has been enjoyable for those close to the program as their only Head Coach from the program’s inception in 1997 has been Kevin Quinn. The Quaker’s built their program the right way through developmental programs and bringing players up through the ranks of Freshman hockey to the Varsity level. QV can be proud that ALL of its players are home grown, with no advantage of bringing already developed players in from another team. Quaker Valley defeated long time nemesis Serra Catholic 6-0 top capture the Penguins Cup in their first ever trip and gain a spot next to the defending State Champions Penncrest Lions. The Quakers will be trying to do something for Western Pennsylvania tat has not happened since 2002 when Serra defeated Radnor to win the Pennsylvania Class A crown. After a run of ten in a row from 1993 to 2003, Western Pa holds 11 Class A State Championships and Eastern Pa has captured 6 Class titles. So before a packed house at the RMU Neville Island Sport Center and after a nervous opening sequence for QV at 14:04, red hot Furman South walked off the near boards a rifled a rocket over the stick side of Ryan McElhenny to give the Quakers a 1-0 lead. After the whistle at 12:50, Penncrest lost its composure with a retaliation penalty putting QV on the power play. But it would be Dave Bixler, who would draw a penalty just 41 seconds later to even it up in a very important turning point in the hockey game. With 7:46 remaining in the opening period, the Lions were a little overzealous on the physical play and put the Quakers on the power play with another chance to go up two goals. With 6:06 remaining, McElhenney made a point blank save on Cody Scott and the Lions were able to kill off the QV man advatantage. With 3:21 remaining in the first period, Penncrest earned an opportunity on the power play and gain a tie score and after some sustained pressure, the Lions took another aggressive penalty to even it up. With 1:02 left another penalty created a 4 on 4 situation and moments later after brother Furman went to the box, freshman Colin South showed tremendous patience on a 2 on 1 and buried a wrist shot low to the glove side with 47 seconds for a 2-0 Quaker Valley lead and then just 19 seconds later, it was Colin South beat McElhenney on a long shot that handcuffed the Penncrest goaltender and gave the Quakers a 3-0 lead as they outshoot Penncrest 14-7 in the opening period turning a tight one goal contest into a 3 goal QV cushion. On to the second and QV goaltender Zac Zinger got into the act stopping Bixler from the side of the net. Penncrest showed some frustration and put the Quakers on the power play again. Then the South’s struck again as Furman found a loose puck along the boards and fired a shot at 6:55, which Ryan McElhenney saved but like a truck Colin South crashed the net and beat the Penncrest defenseman to the puck and the Quakers now had a 4-0 lead, prompting a timeout by the Lions. With 5:53 to play nothing was going right for the Lions as they were whistled again and just 7 seconds after the face-off, Furman South buried a slapshot from the middle of the circle and the score read Quaker Valley South 5 Penncrest heading East 0. Then with 3:12 remaining in the 2nd, a QV miscue ended up on the stick of Nick Kusturriss, who beat Zac Zinger low to the stick side to get the Lions on the board 5-1, but the Quaker Valley team would be just 15 minutes from a State Championship. Although Penncrest outshot QV in the period 14-11, the Quakers dominated the first 30 minutes and it was reflected on the scoreboard. The Penncrest chances ended up safely in the capable hands of QV goaltender Zac Zinger early in the third period. And then the icing on the cake came with 10:21 remaining as Furman South intercepted a Penncrest clearing pass and then deked the Lion’s defense and lofted a wrist shot low to the stick side to give QV a 6-1 lead on a great goal for the hat trick. With 8 ½ to go and a two man advantage, the puck found Furman South’s stick again like a magnet and he buried a wrist shot to the stick side for his 4th goal of the game and a demanding 7-1 plastering of the defending State Champions. Then with 7:14 remaining, little used 4th liner John Chicots scored on his own rebound for an exclamation point and a 8-1 QV runaway. Then another goal as Mikail Lemieux unleashed a wicked slapshot that beat McElhenney with 6:33 to play to make it 9-1. Penncrest’s Dave Bixler scored a consolation goal with 4:43 to play to make the final count 9-2. Final shots were 40-36 in favor of QV. For Quaker Valley, a tremendous finish to a magical season in bringing back the State Class A Championship to Western Pennsylvania.

2006 Pennsylvania High School Hockey Championships – Class AA Pine Richland 3 Haverford 0 NEVILLE ISLAND – Haverford High enters the 2006 Pennsylvania Class AA Championship on the heels of their 2nd consecutive Flyers Cup with a 4-0 victory over Central Bucks South. For head coach Brian Cleary last years trip to the State AA title game left a lasting impression as the Fords failed to score against Peters Twp and Rob Madore going down by a 4-0 score. Haverford held Peters to a 1-0 game into the 3rd period without Ian Finnerty, who is this season’s leading scorer for the Fords, who was injured early in last year’s title game. Haverford will try to score against a Pine Richland team who is underrated defensively and maybe more importantly to give the Fords a little confidence. Having been here before may be an advantage the Fords can point to as they will need every possible advantage they can get as they face a red hot Rams squad. Pine Richland has been a team on a mission ever since losing in the Penguins Cup finals a year ago to Peters Twp 6-2. And when it came time to slay the dragon for coach Jimmy Black’s club in the Penguins Cup semi-finals against Peters, the Rams fell behind 3-0 late in the 2nd period after yielding a shorthanded goal. Then the difference maker in this playoffs show why he is the unquestionable leader for Pine Richland as Josh Fodor gathered a puck in his own end and buried a slapshot past Peters Twp goaltender Mike Mastracci with one second remaining in the 2nd period and awoke the sleeping giant. The Rams went on to outshot Peters 15-0 in the third and with a big comeback edged the Indians 4-3 as Fodor picked up the game winner. PR has not looked back since pummeling Kittanning 8-3 to capture their first ever Penguins Cup and now have an opportunity to capture the first Boys State Championship for the Pine Richland school district ever. A throng of Pine Richland supporters joined the Haverford faithful for another packed house at RMU Island Sports Center. At 12:10 of the opening period, Stoney Hildreth got a skate on an Ian Finnerty wrist shot labeled for the lower corner as the Fords carried the play in the opening minutes. The Rams would have their first opportunity on the power play be nullified by a penalty by Richland after a delayed call. Haverford’s Jason Hazleton stopped Josh Fodor with 5:29 remaining in the opening period. With 4:26 to go, the Fords would get an opportunity on the power play, but it was George Saad with the chance after a nice set-up by Brian Miller at 3:22, but Jason Hazleton made the save. The Fords had a golden opportunity on a short 5 on 3 advantage, but the Rams killed the first part and then the second portion of the penalty. The teams fought to a scoreless opening 15 minutes as the Fords held a 9-8 advantage in shots. With 11:38 to go in the second, Haverford was whistled on a questionable hooking call putting the Rams on the power play. Fodor took the puck to the net early in the power play, but Jason Hazleton was equal to the task and the Fords killed it off. With 8:04 remaining in the 2nd, Dylan Trombetta got behind the Fords defense on the breakaway and Hazleton stopped him. Another questionable call put the Rams on the power play at 7:46 as Jason Hazleton continued to sparkle and keep Pine Richland off the board as this scoreless game continued to build drama as to who would score first. At 3:22 of the second, Hazleton made an unconscious save in the crease on Phil Trombetta as he somehow kept the puck out. The Rams went on another power play after a skirmish in front of the Haverford goal and went on a 5 on 3 with 1:44 left in the period. As Pine Richland continued to miss chances, Haverford kept persevering and the teams went to the ice cut in a scoreless tie as the Rams outshot the Fords 14 –5. Then a wild play with 12:19 to go in regulation as Joe Christman’s shot deflected off of something or someone near the circles and caromed low to the glove side to give the Rams a 1-0 lead. So Haverford has now played 5 + periods in the state finals and has yet to score. Another Pine Richland power play and at 9:14 Phil DiDinato jammed home a Jordan Yoklic rebound to give the Rams a 2-0 lead. An with 8 ½ left in regulation, the Fords would get a rare power play, but an undisciplined penalty would cost them a half a minute into the man advantage. The referees now made it a competition to see who could call more penalties as the third period was a quagmire of calls. The Fords pulled the goalie with a 5 on 3 power play and had a couple of chances and then Brendan Conlon, the kid left at the rink 7 years ago, provided an empty net goal with 1:16 remaining to seal the victory and a State Championship for Pine Richland with a 3-0 lead and victory for the Rams, who would not be denied fighting off a valiant effort from Haverford High and a great goaltending performance by the Fords Jason Hazleton, who turned aside countless Pine Richland shots and scoring chances. A great win for a Pine Richland program that is a bridesmaid no more and a solid goaltending performance by Stoney Hildreth, who earned a shutout in victory and a well earned defensive effort and enough offense to capture the title.