Indians Dominate Titans Following Shaky Start

The Peters Township Indians earned their first win of the postseason, an expected victory, over the Shaler Titans on Monday night. PT, a fifth seed, won 9-3 over the twelfth-seeded Titans. The Indians will advance to the next round of the playoffs and will now do some scoreboard watching to see whom they will match up with next.

The Titans came out of the gates firing on all cylinders. The team looked they had something to prove, trying to avenge a 3-0 defeat earlier in the season. In addition, Titans wanted to reinforce the old saying that “anyone can beat anyone on any given day.”

Peters looked sloppy at first, quickly racking up three penalties in the first five minutes of the game. On Shaler’s first power play opportunity of the game, Luke Lynch set the PT crowd silent with a goal (assists from Jacob Hetz and Matthew Bour). The quick goal from Shaler showed Peters that this would be no cakewalk into the second round.

After the goal and a minute or two of shock, the Indians finally started to wake up. The passes immediately became crisper, and the team zoomed up and down the ice, firing many shots at the goaltender.

With about six and a half minutes remaining in the first, Cox skated down the ice, into the offensive zone (having just received a pass from teammate Alex DeBolt), and sniped the puck off the goalie’s glove into the net. The goal tied the game back up and shifted the momentum back in PT’s direction.

In addition, the goal marked the beginning of PT’s “fabulous four” last night. Taylor Cox, Patrick Hannan, Trevor Recktenwald and Alex DeBolt fed off each other all night, accounting for eight of the nine goals and seven of the eight assists. Cox finished with two goals and an assist, Hannan finished with a hat trick and an assist, Recktenwald with two goals and three assists, and DeBolt with a goal and two assists.

Just before the end of the first, PT picked up its lone goal not from the “fabulous four.” Recktenwald fired a pass to Cole Snyder behind the net, who quickly wrapped the puck around the net, just past the goaltender’s leg. PT, after taking a 2-1 lead, never looked back for the rest of the game.

The second period was complete and utter Peters Township dominance.

The Indians scored three times in the first five minutes of the period, including a power play goal from DeBolt. The team also scored late in the period, courtesy of Recktenwald (assist from DeBolt). Many of PT’s goals were hard earned. The Titans simply struggled to ever free the puck from their own defensive zone. The Indians just kept firing shots, picking up rebounds and passing the puck at will. It only takes so long before the puck gets past the goalie in those types of scenarios.

With just under a minute left in the second, Luke Vogel netted his first of two on the night. The goal really didn’t mean much—Peters still led 6-2 at intermission.

Vogel scored quickly to start the third, however, Shaler was quiet for the rest of the game. The Indians did a very nice job of shutting down the Titans’ points leader, Jacob Hetz. PT held Hetz, sixth in the league in points, to just a single assist all night. This may have been a focal point for the Indians and a key to victory.

As the third period progressed, the Indians just made the game a blowout. Recktenwald netted a short-handed goal, while Cox and Hannan both scored on the power play. This was a great sign for the squad, especially because they have struggled in games past on special teams.

Although Shaler is a team that the Indians should have beaten, PT proved that when they have everything working correctly, they can be a dangerous team. As I said in my playoff preview, one of the main focal points of the Indians needs to be consistency. If the team can be consistent, they can play with anyone in the playoffs.

Check back with Peters Patch to find out when PT’s next playoff game will be, and whom they will face-off against.

Editor's Note: Author Josh Glicksman is a sophomore at . Photographer Austin Chappell is a junior.