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

Park, Carrick To Meet in Final By JOSH STROPE Wheeling Intelligencer WHEELING - Wheeling Central coach James Rae knew his young team would be facing an uphill battle in effort to top Carrick during their semifinal game of the Nailers Cup Monday at WesBanco Arena. The Maroon Knights put up a gallant fight, but were no match for top-seeded Cougars as Carrick defeated Wheeling Central 8-1 for the right to play for the PIHL¡¯s Nailers Cup Wednesday against Wheeling Park, a 6-1 winner over Morgantown in the nightcap. ¡°We were pretty unlucky tonight,¡± Rae said. ¡°We came out and committed some silly penalties and they just took advantage of us. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty good hockey team over there.¡± The Maroon Knights hung around in the first period, despite being outshot 7-0 in the early going. Wheeling Central¡¯s first shot on goal was one of its best chances to score as Matt Pockl raced down the ice on a breakaway, only to be denied by Carrick goaltender J.T. Kohnen. More good chances game the way of Wheeling Central as the Maroon Knights had two wide open shots in front of the net, but great saves by Kohnen got the play moving back up ice. During a scrum for the puck, Carrick¡¯s Nick Kelly found himself wide open in front of the net and buried the puck past Central goalkeeper Tommy Pie. Wheeling Central had more chances in the first period, but whiffs on one-timers and Kohnen¡¯s stopping of a Eric Baker breakaway as time was running out kept the designated home team with a one-goal advantage after the first period. ¡°We started real slow, and I thought we played real well as the game went on despite the score, but once they started scoring, we couldn¡¯t recover,¡± Rae said. Just more than a minute into the second period, the Cougars struck again. Kohnen made a diving save on Baker to knock the puck away, and Carrick¡¯s Justin Hennon found himself racing up ice and put the puck past Pie for the game-winner. The scoring didn¡¯t stop there as the Cougars erupted for two more goals in the period, one by Kelly and Matt Abbott. Down 4-0, Wheeling Central needed a spark to get some momentum heading into the final period. With 1:38 remaining in the second period, the Maroon Knights finally got on the scoreboard with a power-play goal by Cory Palmer. But as soon as the momentum came, it left just as suddenly. Carrick struck early in the third period, despite having being shorthanded with two men in the penalty box. Abbott took a rebound and raced up ice, putting the puck past Pie for his second tally of the game. It wasn¡¯t long before Carrick scored again, getting another just 1:43 later as Hennon collected his second goal. After game misconducts and numerous penalties, Carrick was now the recipient of a 5-on-3 advantage and cashed in. As Chris Larkin left the penalty box, teammate Aaron Hahne sent the puck across the ice where Larkin was waiting with a one-timer past Pie for a 7-1 lead. Abbott finished up the scoring on another breakaway with 14 seconds remaining, deking Pie one way, before collecting his hat trick. ¡°Abbott¡¯s a player that is always good for two or more goals a game, and is one of those kids you love to coach, but hate to play against,¡± Rae said. The Maroon Knights took 22 shots in the contest, eight by leading scorer Baker. ¡°Eric¡¯s a good kid but he was a little unlucky tonight,¡± Rae said. ¡°It¡¯s really unlucky because it was his last game.¡± Pie finished the game with 19 saves, while Kohnen collected 21. While Rae will lose Baker, he sees plenty of good things for the coming seasons. ¡®¡®We are all kind of shell-shocked right now, but we¡¯re a young team and we¡¯ll bounce back,¡¯¡¯ he said. ¡®¡®The future is very bright here.¡¯¡¯ Wheeling Park 6, Morgantown 1 Luke Sonnefeld scored two goals to lead the Patriots to a win over Morgantown in the second semifinal game of the Nailers Cup and a date with Carrick in the championship game. Adam Lewton, Christian Lewton, Jason Pelinsky, and Zach Davis scored the other goals for the No. 2 ranked Patriots. Matt McWilliams made 10 saves in the game for Wheeling Park. ¡Ò¡Ò¡Ò Carrick 8, Wheeling Central 1 C ¡ª Goals: Abbott 3, Kelly 2, Hennon 2, Larkin; Assists: Faust 2, Kass 2, Hahne 2, Deevy; Goalkeeper: Kohnen (21 saves); W ¡ª Goals: Palmer; Goalkeeper: Pie (19 saves). Wheeling Park 6, Morgantown 1 W ¡ª Goals: Sonnefeld 2, A.Lewton, C.Lewton, J.Pelinsky, Davis; Assists: S.Pelinsky 2, Brown 2, Schutz 2, A. Lewton, C.Lewton, Sullivan; Goalkeeper: McWilliams (10 saves); M ¡ª Goal: Hart; Goalkeeper: Levelle (29 saves).

Bishop McCort 3 Mars 0 JOHNSTOWN – Bishop McCort [18-3-1], the defending Penguins Cup champions and Mars 13-9-0, represent two of six teams in the 12 team Class A with a winning record. This is a far cry from the last time that the Crimson Crushers, were Penguins Cup champions in 1999, when it was prestigious just to make the Penguins Cup playoffs, let alone the Elite 8. In today’s Western Pa Hockey, the playoff committee is looking for warm bodies just to suit up for games as evidenced by Conemaugh Valley, with just four wins entering the playoffs against # 1 seed Quaker Valley. This opening round game between the Crimson Crushers and the Planets is an opportunity for an upset in round one for several reasons including goaltending, which is decidedly in favor of Mars with four-year starter Bryan Ross. Bishop McCort head coach John Bradley is well aware that his team will more than likely face Serra Catholic if they defeat the Planets, which is why this game is intruiging, since the Crushers and Eagles have been battling for the Penguins Cup supremacy for each of the past seven seasons. The Crushers owned the first period territorial play and the shots 15-6, but Bryan Ross was particularly sharp as he stopped several McCort opportunities. The first came as Matt Cooper got behind the Planets defense at 9:11 of the opening period but the Mars goaltender stopped him. Chad James had the next chance at the eight-minute mark, but Ross gloved it. At 5:54, the Planet’s keeper stopped # 9 with a sliding save. Maybe the best opportunity came on a give and go in front of Ross, but the Planet’s netminder kept the game scoreless. Mars had a chance to open up the scoring on a bang bang play as both Bryan Reel and Mike Kenitz could not beat Crusher netminder Brent Troyan On to the second period in a scoreless game and Domonkos walked out of the corner to the net and Ross held his ground at 12:06. At 7:11 of the second, McCort’s Christian Ternchanik had multiple chances, but Bryan Ross made a sprawling save. Now the Mars goaltender was looking almost unbeatable as he stopped Mike Kiely from point blank as the ice tilted to McCort. Mars snuck Bryan Reel behind the Crusher defense at 3:27 and Troyan made the initial stop and again on the rebound on Mike Riefner. The Crushers finally found the net with 1:52 remaining in the 2nd as Steven Polonkey’s bullet from the left point beat Ross high over the glove hand side to give McCort a 1-0 lead. Zac Seidel found Shawn James alone behind the defense, but Bryan Ross made his best save yet at the buzzer and the teams headed to the ice cut with Bishop McCort holding a slim 1-0 advantage, despite the Crushers holding a 29-13 shot edge. The Crushers started the 3rd on the power play and converted as Zac Seidel found a loose puck and an empty net on the doorstep with 14:16 left in regulation from a puck that Shawn James shot from the right face-off circle. The Crusher’s just kept on coming and piling up the shots and with 8:00 to go Marc Domonkos jammed home his won rebound to make the count 3-0. Mars went on the power play with 5:54 to play but Brent Troyan made a nice stop on Bryan Reel to maintain the shutout. The Crimson Crushers held on for a hard fought 3-0 victory. So for the 14th time in 15 years, Bishop McCort advances on to the Penguins Cup Semi-Finals with an opportunity to advance to their 12th trip to the Penguins Cup.

Bishop McCort 3 Mars 0 JOHNSTOWN – Bishop McCort [18-3-1], the defending Penguins Cup champions and Mars 13-9-0, represent two of six teams in the 12 team Class A with a winning record. This is a far cry from the last time that the Crimson Crushers, were Penguins Cup champions in 1999, when it was prestigious just to make the Penguins Cup playoffs, let alone the Elite 8. In today’s Western Pa Hockey, the playoff committee is looking for warm bodies just to suit up for games as evidenced by Conemaugh Valley, with just four wins entering the playoffs against # 1 seed Quaker Valley. This opening round game between the Crimson Crushers and the Planets is an opportunity for an upset in round one for several reasons including goaltending, which is decidedly in favor of Mars with four-year starter Bryan Ross. Bishop McCort head coach John Bradley is well aware that his team will more than likely face Serra Catholic if they defeat the Planets, which is why this game is intruiging, since the Crushers and Eagles have been battling for the Penguins Cup supremacy for each of the past seven seasons. The Crushers owned the first period territorial play and the shots 15-6, but Bryan Ross was particularly sharp as he stopped several McCort opportunities. The first came as Matt Cooper got behind the Planets defense at 9:11 of the opening period but the Mars goaltender stopped him. Chad James had the next chance at the eight-minute mark, but Ross gloved it. At 5:54, the Planet’s keeper stopped # 9 with a sliding save. Maybe the best opportunity came on a give and go in front of Ross, but the Planet’s netminder kept the game scoreless. Mars had a chance to open up the scoring on a bang bang play as both Bryan Reel and Mike Kenitz could not beat Crusher netminder Brent Troyan On to the second period in a scoreless game and Domonkos walked out of the corner to the net and Ross held his ground at 12:06. At 7:11 of the second, McCort’s Christian Ternchanik had multiple chances, but Bryan Ross made a sprawling save. Now the Mars goaltender was looking almost unbeatable as he stopped Mike Kiely from point blank as the ice tilted to McCort. Mars snuck Bryan Reel behind the Crusher defense at 3:27 and Troyan made the initial stop and again on the rebound on Mike Riefner. The Crushers finally found the net with 1:52 remaining in the 2nd as Steven Polonkey’s bullet from the left point beat Ross high over the glove hand side to give McCort a 1-0 lead. Zac Seidel found Shawn James alone behind the defense, but Bryan Ross made his best save yet at the buzzer and the teams headed to the ice cut with Bishop McCort holding a slim 1-0 advantage, despite the Crushers holding a 29-13 shot edge. The Crushers started the 3rd on the power play and converted as Zac Seidel found a loose puck and an empty net on the doorstep with 14:16 left in regulation from a puck that Shawn James shot from the right face-off circle. The Crusher’s just kept on coming and piling up the shots and with 8:00 to go Marc Domonkos jammed home his won rebound to make the count 3-0. Mars went on the power play with 5:54 to play but Brent Troyan made a nice stop on Bryan Reel to maintain the shutout. The Crimson Crushers held on for a hard fought 3-0 victory. So for the 14th time in 15 years, Bishop McCort advances on to the Penguins Cup Semi-Finals with an opportunity to advance to their 12th trip to the Penguins Cup.

Penn Trafford 5 Kiski 3 - DELMONT Kiski [20-1-0] entered the first round of the Penguins Cup playoffs after defeating Baldwin 7-6 on Tuesday night. The Cavaliers play in the Open Division and will continue in the Open Playoffs regardless of the outcome of tonight’s contest. Penn Trafford [16-6-0] has captured three straight division titles and has also been bounced from the playoffs for three consecutive years by Bethel Park, who interestingly enough could match up for a 4th consecutive year in the playoffs as the Hawks are the # 4 seed and the Warriors are the # 5 seed in the Class AAA playoffs Penn Trafford didn’t take long to get on the board as B.J. Zagorac pounced on a Chris Cerutti rebound at 13:06 to give PT a 1-0 lead. Kiski got their first opportunity on the power play and Cerutti strip the puck from the defenseman and raced 120 feet and buried a backhand past Luke Mohamed with 7:49 remaining for a 2-0 Warrior lead. Kiski could not score on a 5 on 3 power play. On to the second period and with the Cavaliers on the power play, PT struck again as Garrett Sodrosky appeared to score another shorthanded goal for the Warriors although Chris Cerutti was announced as the goal scorer at 14:52. Then this contest took a wild turn as Jeremy Zvonkovich scored on the power play which appeared to be re-directed into the goal with a skate, but the referee awarded the goal making it 3-1 in favor of PT with 14:28 to go in the 2nd. Chris Cerutti argued the call and was given a ten minute misconduct penalty. Kiski found momentum and new life in this game and the Warriors were now backpeddling and Josh Horvath made them pay for it just 23 seconds after the misconduct by beating Joel Sterniak on a rebound high over the stick side to cut the lead to 3-2 with 14:05 remaining in the 2nd. Just 28 seconds later, the Cavaliers struck again as Adam Bowman scored on a wrist shot and at 13:37 making it 3 goals in less than a minute and a 3-3 hockey game. With 11:07 remaining in the middle period, Kiski went on a 5 on 3 power play and the Warriors penalty killers Nick Whaley and Erik Likar did a tremendous job killing off the disadvantage. With 4:33 remaining in the period, Jeremy Zvonkovich had a great opportunity to give his team the lead by Joel Sterniak got a glove on it keeping the puck out. Luke Mohamed made two nice saves on Sidle at 4:01 and Chris Cerutti at 2:47 to keep the game tied. Cerutti would strike on the power play with just 37 seconds left in the period as he beat Mohamed on a backhand to give Penn Trafford a 4-3 lead. After PT’s Dan Sidle and Kiski’s Dustin Schrecongost engaged in a quarrel on the ice and were given 10 minute misconducts, they continued the fights near the locker room area and Sidle and Cerutti headed off to the Penguin’s Hornet Reindeer practice and potentially watched their high school careers end if Kiski could mount a comeback. But its would be the other Penn Trafford players who would step up and win this hockey game as Joel Sterniak stopped the Cavaliers chances in the third period. Erik Likar and freshman Robbie Maier provided a solid defensive effort and Nick Whaley played both ends of the ice including a huge insurance goal with 5:53 remaining on a great individual effort as he got his own rebound and beat Luke Mohamed and made the final count 5-3. For Kiski, a valiant effort and now they can go back to playing in the Open Division, but they should have played AAA all season and maybe they could be moving on, but it will be Penn Trafford moving forward to play in the Elite 8 for the 3rd straight year.

Greensburg CC 2 Indiana 1 (OT) GREENSBURG - Greensburg CC (12-7-2) and Indiana (11-8-2) entered the opening round of the 2006 Penguins Cup playoffs going in different directions. Indiana is fresh off of a 4-2 win over defending State Champions Peters Twp, while the Centurians had to beat the clock in the final minute to defeat a relatively weak Beaver team. GCC has been playing the stretch drive with just 12 skaters and while that means a lot to some, head coach Bill Bucholtz is hoping his club can find the playoff magic. Indiana, on the other hand, after a slow start to the season has played well at times and beaten some good teams including Canevin, Peters and Thomas Jefferson. For head coach Dom Glavech, he is hoping for the Indians to return to the Penguins Cup semis for the 3rd consecutive year. Indiana opened the scoring at 11:03 of the opening period as Jay Pettina walked between the circles and beat Ryan Homanics on a backhand to make it 1-0. Greensburg CC outshot the Indians 12-9 in the opening period but Mike Kennedy made several nice saves to keep the Centurians off the board. Ryan Homanics made a terrific stop on a 3 on 1 at 14:21 as Indiana looked to take a two goal lead. Indiana went on the power play at 2:04 of the second and appeared to score but the goal was waved off due to directing the puck in with the skate. In the third period, the game turned into a goaltending dual between Mike Kennedy of Indiana and Ryan Homanics of GCC. After Kennedy stone the Centurians on the power play early in the third, Homanics made a great save on Joe Appolonia on a breakaway at 10:42. With 9:10 remaining in regulation, Nick Vukmaravich scored on a rebound beating Mike Kennedy to tie the game at one apiece. The Centurians had the better of the play with a little over 6 minutes to go playing desperate hockey, but Kennedy made several nice saves. So this game entered the final three minutes deadlocked and heading for overtime. One mistake, one chance is all it would take to end it. Ryan Homanics stopped Lance Lewandowski and Steven Geisel on the rebound in the final seconds. On to overtime we went in a classic game with terrific goaltending,which continued in the extra period as Kennedy made three point blank save on Todd Kacin rom between the circles and twice on Evan George from in close. With 5:43 remaining in OT, Steven Geisel’s wrist shot slithered just wide of the post. Then it was Marc Perez who found a loose puck on a rebound and lofted a backhand over a fallen Mike Kennedy into the net to give the Centurians a heartstopping 2-1 overtime victory on GCC’s 36th shot to 30 for Indiana.