Tag: Pennsylvania Cup

La Salle 7 Peters Township 3

La Salle got contributions from all hands Saturday afternoon. The result was a state championship. Seven different players scored goals in the course of a 7-3 win over Peter Township in the Class AAA Pennsylvania Cup championship game at the Robert Morris University Sports Center outside of Pittsburgh.

The win gave the Explorers (16-9-2) their seventh state title, their first since 2019.

“It was a great team effort,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner.

The Explorers broke the game open with four unanswered goals in the second period.

Charlie Kennedy gave La Salle a 1-0 lead with 41 seconds left in the first period when he put in a rebound of his own shot from the right point.

Will Tomko tied the game for the Indians early in the second period off an offensive left-circle faceoff.

But La Salle dominated the remainder of the period. Julian Tarsi, Evan Golato, Chase Hannon, and Ryan Desmond scored goals to give the Explorers a 5-1 lead at period’s end.

Peters Township (18-4-1) which came into the game as the defending state champion, drew closer with a pair of goals that made it a 5-3 game with 11:02 still left in regulation but Michael Zarzycki extended La Salle’s lead at the 7:39 mark.

Max Monzo finished the scoring with an empty net goal with 1:16 remaining.

““The boys truly bought in and gave one of their best performances of the season,” Muehlbronner said. “Our senior leadership this season was outstanding.”

Ice chips—La Salle’s previous state titles came in 1998, 2008-09, 2012, 2016, and 2019.

South Fayette 7 Pennsbury 4

 South Fayette scored three goals in just under two minutes late in the third period to score a 7-4 win over Pennsbury in the Pennsylvania Cup Class AA championship game at the Robert Morris Sports Center just outside of Pittsburgh.

Wes Schwarzmiller scored his second goal of the game with 2:57 remaining in regulation to break a 4-4 tie. The game-winning goal came when the senior darted down the left wing and launched a shot from below the circle that caught the top right corner of the net.

Nolan Murphy added an insurance goal for the Lions with 1:33 remaining.

Brayden Imler added an empty-net goal for the Lions (19-3-2) with 1:06 remaining. Allen Schraeder got the win in goal.

Brendan MacAinsh and Justin Marlin scored two goals each for Pennsbury. Each scored once to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead with 5:39 left in the first period before South Fayette scored four straight goals to take a 4-2 lead early in the second period.

Marlin scored for the Falcons with 9:38 left in the period before MacAinsh added his second goal to send the two teams into the third period tied 4-4.

“We found ourselves in a pretty familiar situation,” said Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley. “Down a couple goals midway through the second. We called a timeout and tried to reset the boys and before you know it, we’ve got a tie game going into the third.”

Daley said his team didn’t get as many shot attempts as he would have liked in the late going.”We might have been a little tired, a little fatigued,” he said. “We probably didn’t get as many shots, especially in the third, as I would have liked.”

Pennsbury, which closed the season at 18-7, was making its fourth appearance in a state final.  The Falcons won the Class AA state title in 1985 and lost Class A state championship games in 1993 and 2000.

Pennsbury 2 2 0—4

S. Fayette 3 1 0 3—7

First-period goals: Brendan MacAinsh (P) from Logan Doyle, 3:20; Justin Marlin (P) from MacAinsh 11:20 (sh); Ryan Cirra (SF) from Tyler Brandebura and Jackson Brabdebura, 11:49 (pp); Rtler Brandebura (SF) from Brayden Imler, 12:32 (pp); Brayden Reighard (SF) from Jackson Brandebura, (sh)

Second-period goals: Wes Schwarzmiller (SF unassisted, 2:39; Marlin (P) from MacCainsh, 7:20 (pp) MacAinsh (P) unassisted, 15:59

Third-period goals: Schwarzmiller (SF) from Brady Fleck 14:03, Nolan Mirphy (SF) from Imler, 15:26; Imler (SF) unassisted, 15:52 (en)

Shots: Pennsbury 33, South Fayette 35; Saves: Aaron McDaniel 28, Allen Schrader (SF) 29

State Championship Schedule

The Pennsylvania Cup championship games are scheduled for Saturday. All three games will be played at the

Robert Morris University Island Sports Center inNeville Township, PA

Here’s the schedule

Class A

West Chester East 8 Kiski 1

Third consecutive state title for West Chester East and fifth overall.

Class AA 2:00 PM

Pennsbury vs. South Fayette

Class 3A    5:00 PM
La Salle vs. Peters Township

Pennridge 4 Thomas Jefferson 3 2OT

WEST GOSHEN TOWNSHIP—Pennridge and Thomas Jefferson matched each other stride for stride and shift for shift Saturday afternoon. At day’s end, it was the Rams who prevailed.

Kevin Pico’s goal 12:01 into the second overtime gave his team a 4-3 win over the Jaguars in the Pennsylvania Class AA state championship game in front of a full house at Ice Line.

The victory was well earned.

“That was a fabulous hockey game,” said Pennridge coach Montagna. “It was just a great game.”

Andrew Savona, Jack Lowery, and Tyler Manto scored regulation goals for Pennridge, which completed its season at 22-0-1.

The Rams enjoyed a 2-1 lead going into the third period but soon found themselves back on their heels.  Colby Bilski scored his second goal of the game off a turnover 3:43 into the period to draw Thomas Jefferson (21-2) even before setting up Nick Stock during a power play to put the Jaguars up 3-2 at 7:31.

Lowery noted and his teammates stayed on an emotional even keel at that point, despite being behind.

“There was not an ounce of panic on our bench,” he said. “We were calm. “We knew that we’ve come back in multiple games before. Every championship game we’ve been in (In the SHSHL and Flyers Cup finals) we’ve been down and come back and won. And there wasn’t a doubt in our minds that we were going to come out in this game on top.”

Indeed, the Rams responded. Tyler Manto tied the game with 5:22 left in the regulation to leave the two teams searching for whatever they might have left for overtime.

“We did not have a lot left in overtime,” Montagna said. 

In the end Pico scored the most significant goal of his career, after Manto and Savona worked the pick down low. The goal came off a rebound of Savona’s original shot

“That’s probably the biggest goal I’m ever going to score my whole hockey career,” Pico said.

Had it not been for Ryan Pico’s work in the Pennridge net, the drama might have ended differently. The senior goaltender faced 65 shots and turned 62 of them aside against an opponent Montagna called the best his team faced all season (the Rams were outshot 62-49).

“He was unbelievable,” Kevin Pico said of his brother. I’ve never seen him play that good in my whole life.”

Montagna echoed those sentiments. “Ryan Pico was absolutely incredible,” he said. “He kept us in there”

The postgame awards pentation and celebration was an emotional time for Lowery, one of the Pennridge captains.

“I feel like I’m top of the world right now,” he said. “No one can take me from that. We said all year, ‘Until this game is over, the job is not finished.’ And it feels great. The job is finally finished for us. 

“That’s a hell of a hockey team we played today. It really could have gone either way. But we came out, played our game and came out on top. That’s just all we could do.”

Thomas Jefferson 0 1 2 0 0—3

Pennridge 2 0 1 0 1—4

First-period goals: Andrew Savona (P) from Tyler Manto, 1:13; Jack Lowery from Aeryk Lehrhaupt, 9:41 (pp)

Second-period goal: Colby Biski (TJ) from Lance Smith, 10:10 (pp)

Third-period goals: Bilski (TJ) from Brett Smith, 3:43; Lance Smith (TJ) from Nick Stock and Bilski, 7:31 (pp); Manto (P) from Colin Dachowski, 11:38

Second-overtime goal: Kevin Pico (P) from Manto and Savona, 12:01

Shots: Thomas Jefferson 65, Pennridge 49; Saves: Billy Siemon (TJ) 45, Ryan Pico (P) 62