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

KITTANNING - If you live in Kittanning, a playoff game is as good as it gets and TJ is loving the opportunity to play against Kittanning and be in the atmosphere that has become the Belmont Complex tradition. Since 1973, I have been coming to Kittanning and things don’t change very much as the people love their hockey and they know their hockey and they all would love to see their home town team win a State Championship. Don Powell knows a little about that as the Jags won three in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and their first own was one where they came from the 7th seed in a very competitive AA field to win it all. Much like this year, 1998 was a season, where any of 9 teams can do it. Thomas Jefferson and Kittanning are in the same boat. Jon Yackmack, who played for Armstrong Central in the early 90’s and lead them to the promised land beating Meadville in the Penguins Cup before losing to Council Rock in the 1991 in the Pennsylvania State final. It is not a far stretch to predict a team coming out of Kittanning and going on a magical ride to the finals. Who’s Who Kittanning style…Ed ‘Jake’ Jacobs, Max and Tim [Pozzuto and Lane], Jimmo Greenbaum, top 5 fan and Indiana hockey mom extraordinaire Maria Jack, TJ staff Ray ‘Jeff Mauro and Mark Heinauer’s Sacrificial Lamb’ Landucci, Don ‘I will never leave my staff with Jeff Mauro again’ Powell, former TJ Prez Melinda ‘I wear a REAL Jaguar Coat not available in stores’ Heinauer, Linda ‘I faithfully call Jeff Mauro with the scores and highlights after the game’ Bonura, legendary former coach Kittanning / Armstrong Joe Ritchey, Joe ‘the Principal’ Avi’ the Mohawked and bleached Kittanning and Thomas Jefferson players, Canon Mac coach and PIHL Web Discussion Forum icon Dave ‘Joe Carson of the Shady Rest Chronicle’ Fryer, Jim King and Dave Bowser calling the game for Arnold ‘Slick’ Ziffel to watch on Family Life TV and the tailgaters in tow at 6:15 PM in the Belmont Parking lot……bring on the hockey playoff style and away we went. Early on Thomas Jefferson went on the power play and pressured Kittanning as Bryan Joseph’s shot rang off the crossbar at 13:02. TJ went back on the power play at 7:09 and did not score. With 2:30 remaining, the Wildcats went on their first man advantage, but TJ had the best chance as Zach Hanbury was stopped from point blank in a scoreless opening The Cats struck first as Joey Ford scored on a backhand on a Adam Fiscus rebound at 14:27 to give Kittanning a 1-0 lead. At 12:47, Thomas Jefferson forward Joe Moore went hard into the boards and lie on the ice in a scary moment, which prompted the back board to be brought on the ice and the teams were sent to the locker room. Our most sincere thoughts for a speedy recovery for Joe. Back to hockey at 9:38 PM we went and Craig Markovitz robbed Justin Kovatch at 11:59 from right in the doorstep. At 9:03, the Jaguars went on the power play but could not score and the game remained as we went to the third period until 12:02 left in regulation when Kittanning went on the power play. And as predicted by our faithful spotter, Brock Heinauer delivered a shorthanded goal on a Zach Hanbury rebound with 10:56 left in regulation. Kittanning got a little overaggressive and put the Jags on the power play with 10:25 left and a golden opportunity to take the lead, but TJ was whistled behind the play to even it up at the 10:00 mark on a slew footing call, which would have made Arnold ‘Slick’ Ziffel proud. And no scoring would occur and we would head to overtime. Shots were 33-27 in favor of TJ. The most memorable overtime game at the Belmont in 1997 when Todd Holabaugh beat Franklin’s Bubby Prior in double overtime to revive the Kittanning hockey program. The last overtime game between TJ and Kittanning was a 2003 Penguins Cup semi-final when Kittanning Dustin Kellner ended it in overtime # 2 5-4 sending the Cats to the Penguins Cup. So on we went to overtime … and Joe Nadar took adavantage of a bad icing and took the puck on the face-off and buried a wrist shot over the stick side of Peter Tolman and sent TJ on to round two 2-1 in overtime.

Special Report Report provided by Justin Valli & the 4 Spartans CORAOPOLIS - It was upset city at the Airport Ice Arena as #12 seed Elizabeth Forward knocked off host #5 West Allegheny by the score of 4-3. Several fans packed the arena to see these two teams battle it out for rights to the second round. It was Elizabeth Forward who started the scoring on the power play as Billy Repass possessed the puck from behind the West Allegheny net and fed a centering pass to Jeremy Delmaster. Delmaster wasted no time and one-timed it past goaltender Dan Kuzio’s glove side for the 1-0 Elizabeth Forward lead. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Forward goaltender Michael Cole was weathering a West Allegheny storm. Cole made several crucial saves throughout the first period and held West Allegheny off the board. It was seemingly out of nowhere with a minute to play in the first when Delmaster struck again. Delmaster took a lead pass from Zachary Salopek and slapped it low past Kuzio for the 2-0 lead at the end of one. Early in the second, Delmaster continued his hot play. He skated the puck into the West Allegheny zone, shook a defender and made a pass cross ice to a streaking Justin Lizik. Lizik took the shot and scored short side over the shoulder of Kuzio. Kyle Mortimer would replace Kuzio in net for West Allegheny and make some nice glove saves. Elizabeth Forward continued to hit hard but would take a costly penalty to put West Allegheny on the power play. On the power play, Marek Polidor and Ryan Kumpfmiller moved the puck around nicely and it was All-Star Ryne Savisky who would give West Allegheny its first goal. Savisky took the pass from Polidor, cradled the puck, and sneaked a shot just inside the left post. Elizabeth Forward however would quickly answer and put itself up 4-1 when Brian Doak put a shot on net and the puck caromed off a skate in front and slid past Mortimer for the goal. Thinking that this goal would have broken the camel’s back, West Allegheny would not falter and soon began to control the game. With four minutes to go in the second period, West Allegheny was given a two man advantage but Elizabeth Forward was able to kill both penalties. However just as the penalties expired, West Allegheny got the goal they desperately needed. Tony Lutz put a shot on net, the puck got kicked around and squirted loose to the stick of Jeff Rich who finished the job to cut the Elizabeth Forward lead to 4-2. EF’s Bill Repass played the body all night and caused some problems for the West Allegheny Indians. Elizabeth Forward continued to fight to preserve its lead. However with 11 minutes to go, West Allegheny felt differently as Senior All-Star Ian Skacan found a loose puck in front and buried it past goaltender Michael Cole. West Allegheny would continue to pound on the doorstep of Elizabeth Forward, as every player on the ice gave his all. The game flow picked up with 5 minutes to go but West Allegheny would take two tough penalties and Michael Cole was able to turn away two tough shots from Kumpfmiller and Savisky and preserve the Elizabeth Forward playoff victory.

KITTANNING - Since all you need is a pulse to qualify for the Class A playoffs, Deer Lakes at 7-15-0 finished tied with Forest Hills for the 10th slot in the playoffs, resulting in a tiebreaker situation. The head to head was 3-2 in favor of Forest Hills giving the Rangers the 10th spot and Deer Lakes the 11th to face Mars. The Forest Hills School Board told the club that since they were under .500, they would not participate, which is advice the PIHL should heed and only have 8 teams in the Class A playoffs, 12 in AA and 12 in AAA. So Deer Lakes ended up at # 10 anyway and a return trip to the Belmont to face Freeport, who the Lancers fell last week to 5-2 after relinquishing a 2-0 lead after two periods. Deer Lakes can be proud as at the beginning of the season, there were rumors that the Lancers would not field a team, so pulse was an issue in November. Coach Dave Hepler’s squad earned a spot in the Class A dance with a 13-8-1 record finishing just behind Westmont Hilltop in the North Division missing a division crown by just one point. The Yellow Jackets have faired well in the playoffs as in 2002 they ventured to the Penguins Cup Semis before losing to eventual State Champions Serra Catholic at Rostraver and in 2003 they lost in round two. The game was slow paced early on as the teams traded territorial edge in the first ten minutes. Freeport received a scare as leading scorer Dustin Gaworski was slammed to the boards with 4:30 left in the opening period, but return to the game late in the period. The Yellow Jackets struck first as Josh Schreckengost tipped in a Branden McQueen shot past Rich Smith for a 1-0 Freeport lead. Deer Lakes answered as Rick Bigley beat Tim Zahuremsky over the glove side to tie the score with 46 seconds left in the period. On to the 2nd and Freeport seized the lead as Josh Schreckengost scored his second goal with 10:23 remaining for a 2-1 edge. After being stopped on a breakaway by Rich Smith just moments earlier, Dustin Gaworski converted beating Smith for a 3-1 lead with just 1:10 left in the 2nd. The Jackets came right and scored again with just :28 left in the period as Zach Hepler beat Smith and Freeport took control 4-1. At 13:19 of the 3rd Josh Schreckengost completed the hat trick to put Freeport sniffing round two with a 5-1 rout. Gaworski added another goal on a rebound at 9:30 for 6-1 and the Yellow Jackets were on their way to Johnstown next week for a meeting with Bishop McCort. With 26 ticks left Jason Bubb capped it off with a wrist shot to the stick side for a 7-1 Freeport victory.

KITTANNING - If you live in Kittanning, a playoff game is as good as it gets and TJ is loving the opportunity to play against Kittanning and be in the atmosphere that has become the Belmont Complex tradition. Since 1973, I have been coming to Kittanning and things don’t change very much as the people love their hockey and they know their hockey and they all would love to see their home town team win a State Championship. Don Powell knows a little about that as the Jags won three in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and their first own was one where they came from the 7th seed in a very competitive AA field to win it all. Much like this year, 1998 was a season, where any of 9 teams can do it. Thomas Jefferson and Kittanning are in the same boat. Jon Yackmack, who played for Armstrong Central in the early 90’s and lead them to the promised land beating Meadville in the Penguins Cup before losing to Council Rock in the 1991 in the Pennsylvania State final. It is not a far stretch to predict a team coming out of Kittanning and going on a magical ride to the finals. Who’s Who Kittanning style…Ed ‘Jake’ Jacobs, Max and Tim [Pozzuto and Lane], Jimmo Greenbaum, top 5 fan and Indiana hockey mom extraordinaire Maria Jack, TJ staff Ray ‘Jeff Mauro and Mark Heinauer’s Sacrificial Lamb’ Landucci, Don ‘I will never leave my staff with Jeff Mauro again’ Powell, former TJ Prez Melinda ‘I wear a REAL Jaguar Coat not available in stores’ Heinauer, Linda ‘I faithfully call Jeff Mauro with the scores and highlights after the game’ Bonura, legendary former coach Kittanning / Armstrong Joe Ritchey, Joe ‘the Principal’ Avi’ the Mohawked and bleached Kittanning and Thomas Jefferson players, Canon Mac coach and PIHL Web Discussion Forum icon Dave ‘Joe Carson of the Shady Rest Chronicle’ Fryer, Jim King and Dave Bowser calling the game for Arnold ‘Slick’ Ziffel to watch on Family Life TV and the tailgaters in tow at 6:15 PM in the Belmont Parking lot……bring on the hockey playoff style and away we went. Early on Thomas Jefferson went on the power play and pressured Kittanning as Bryan Joseph’s shot rang off the crossbar at 13:02. TJ went back on the power play at 7:09 and did not score. With 2:30 remaining, the Wildcats went on their first man advantage, but TJ had the best chance as Zach Hanbury was stopped from point blank in a scoreless opening The Cats struck first as Joey Ford scored on a backhand on a Adam Fiscus rebound at 14:27 to give Kittanning a 1-0 lead. At 12:47, Thomas Jefferson forward Joe Moore went hard into the boards and lie on the ice in a scary moment, which prompted the back board to be brought on the ice and the teams were sent to the locker room. Our most sincere thoughts for a speedy recovery for Joe. Back to hockey at 9:38 PM we went and Craig Markovitz robbed Justin Kovatch at 11:59 from right in the doorstep. At 9:03, the Jaguars went on the power play but could not score and the game remained as we went to the third period until 12:02 left in regulation when Kittanning went on the power play. And as predicted by our faithful spotter, Brock Heinauer delivered a shorthanded goal on a Zach Hanbury rebound with 10:56 left in regulation. Kittanning got a little overaggressive and put the Jags on the power play with 10:25 left and a golden opportunity to take the lead, but TJ was whistled behind the play to even it up at the 10:00 mark on a slew footing call, which would have made Arnold ‘Slick’ Ziffel proud. And no scoring would occur and we would head to overtime. Shots were 33-27 in favor of TJ. The most memorable overtime game at the Belmont in 1997 when Todd Holabaugh beat Franklin’s Bubby Prior in double overtime to revive the Kittanning hockey program. The last overtime game between TJ and Kittanning was a 2003 Penguins Cup semi-final when Kittanning Dustin Kellner ended it in overtime # 2 5-4 sending the Cats to the Penguins Cup. So on we went to overtime … and Joe Nadar took adavantage of a bad icing and took the puck on the face-off and buried a wrist shot over the stick side of Peter Tolman and sent TJ on to round two 2-1 in overtime.

Special Report Report provided by Justin Valli & the 4 Spartans CORAOPOLIS - It was upset city at the Airport Ice Arena as #12 seed Elizabeth Forward knocked off host #5 West Allegheny by the score of 4-3. Several fans packed the arena to see these two teams battle it out for rights to the second round. It was Elizabeth Forward who started the scoring on the power play as Billy Repass possessed the puck from behind the West Allegheny net and fed a centering pass to Jeremy Delmaster. Delmaster wasted no time and one-timed it past goaltender Dan Kuzio’s glove side for the 1-0 Elizabeth Forward lead. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Forward goaltender Michael Cole was weathering a West Allegheny storm. Cole made several crucial saves throughout the first period and held West Allegheny off the board. It was seemingly out of nowhere with a minute to play in the first when Delmaster struck again. Delmaster took a lead pass from Zachary Salopek and slapped it low past Kuzio for the 2-0 lead at the end of one. Early in the second, Delmaster continued his hot play. He skated the puck into the West Allegheny zone, shook a defender and made a pass cross ice to a streaking Justin Lizik. Lizik took the shot and scored short side over the shoulder of Kuzio. Kyle Mortimer would replace Kuzio in net for West Allegheny and make some nice glove saves. Elizabeth Forward continued to hit hard but would take a costly penalty to put West Allegheny on the power play. On the power play, Marek Polidor and Ryan Kumpfmiller moved the puck around nicely and it was All-Star Ryne Savisky who would give West Allegheny its first goal. Savisky took the pass from Polidor, cradled the puck, and sneaked a shot just inside the left post. Elizabeth Forward however would quickly answer and put itself up 4-1 when Brian Doak put a shot on net and the puck caromed off a skate in front and slid past Mortimer for the goal. Thinking that this goal would have broken the camel’s back, West Allegheny would not falter and soon began to control the game. With four minutes to go in the second period, West Allegheny was given a two man advantage but Elizabeth Forward was able to kill both penalties. However just as the penalties expired, West Allegheny got the goal they desperately needed. Tony Lutz put a shot on net, the puck got kicked around and squirted loose to the stick of Jeff Rich who finished the job to cut the Elizabeth Forward lead to 4-2. EF’s Bill Repass played the body all night and caused some problems for the West Allegheny Indians. Elizabeth Forward continued to fight to preserve its lead. However with 11 minutes to go, West Allegheny felt differently as Senior All-Star Ian Skacan found a loose puck in front and buried it past goaltender Michael Cole. West Allegheny would continue to pound on the doorstep of Elizabeth Forward, as every player on the ice gave his all. The game flow picked up with 5 minutes to go but West Allegheny would take two tough penalties and Michael Cole was able to turn away two tough shots from Kumpfmiller and Savisky and preserve the Elizabeth Forward playoff victory.