Quaker Valley Quakers - 2006 - 2012

BETHEL PARK - Bethel Park coach Jim McVay knew his team would face a tough opponent in Meadville. Jamie Plunkett's Bulldog's needed a win to win the West/Lake Division and position themselves for the upcoming playoffs. The Blackhawks on the other hand were 22-0 and playing for a perfect season. There was also another record at stake, which will mark Bethel as a team for the ages, but lets talk about the game first. The Bulldogs came out flying in the first and pressured the Hawks. Brian Bahurinsky took a Jeff Holabaugh cross ice pass and buried it upstairs past Matt Feige to give the Dawgs a 1-0 lead at 12:39. Then Bethel settled in and began to swing the momentum late in the first, but could not beat Danny O'Sharuk, who made nice stops on C.J. Strauss and Lee Volensky in the middle of the opening frame. Then the turning point of the game took place as Justin Glock, working like a surgeon flagged down a great keep in by Tom Starkey, and proceeded to turn to Meadville defenseman inside out and use him as a screen to beat O'Sharuk with just :19 seconds left in the 1st to make it 1-1. Meadville tried to regain thelead as Bahurinsky walked around the BP defense, but Feige cam up big. Bethel's Tom Starkey found Jason McLean behind the Dawg blueline and McLean was stopped by O'Sharuk. Seconds later, McLean found Tony Sands, who chipped the puck past the Meadville goaltender to give BP a 2-1 lead at 9:15. Then a little controversy, as an apparent tying goal by Rick Thomas was waived off by the officials in favor of a delay of game penalty for moveing the net and the score remained 2-1. On to the third and Bethel Park came out flying as the Hawks outshot Meadville 11-3. O'Sharuk kept his team in the game and kept the score 2-1 late including a stop on McLean again at 5:30. Then Meadville was whistle and BP went on the power play and capitalized as Tom Starkey scored on a backdoor pass from Brandon Hanley to ice the game 3-1. Bethel Park finished the season with a perfect 23-0-0 record and erased a 20 year old AAA goals against record of 18 set by North Catholic in 1981, by allowing only 14 goals in 23 games.