Warriors Hold Off Indians' Late Comeback

Thursday night was senior recognition night for the Peters Township Indians.

In the 2012-2013 season, the squad will lose a whopping 12 seniors, including captain Cole Snyder and both assistants Aaron McDonough and Davan Groom.

The “veterans” wanted to make a lasting impact on the ice, shining on their night. Unfortunately for them, the team fell just short, losing 6-5, despite scoring two goals in the final minute of the game.

The Indians came out of the gate firing on all cylinders.

PT crushed Penn-Trafford early, the squad still charged from the pre-game senior ceremony. With just under eight minutes remaining in the first period, junior Trevor Recktenwald took the puck behind the net. He then fired the puck to the slot, finding an open Snyder who then one-timed the puck past Warriors’ goaltender, Michael Cheswick.

The goal clearly meant a lot to Snyder, who has worked hard all season to try and put the team in a good position for the playoffs. After the goal, he could be seen with a smile stretching from ear to ear.

Then, the Warriors started to turn play around.

The team is best known for its offensive talent, and they certainly did not disappoint last night. Penn-Trafford possesses the league leader in points, Dan Maier, in addition to Conlan Sodrosky (3rd) and Joseph Boyer (4th). Less than two and a half minutes after Snyder’s goal, Maier answered with one of his own.

A short three minutes later, the Warriors netted another goal, courtesy of Matthew Burger (assists from Boyer and Jacob Miller). Peters’ biggest problem of the night was clearing the puck out of the zone.

The Warriors often came into the attacking zone with a 2-on-1, 3-on-2 or 3-on-1. Brian Baker usually made the initial save (Maier’s first goal went by Baker top shelf) but they would score on a rebound. On certain instances, multiple shots were fired at Baker, the Indians unable to get the puck out. If the Indians could have kept play more at the other end of the ice, the result of the game probably would have been completely altered.

With just 25.7 seconds left in the first, Alex DeBolt netted the equalizer, a power play goal. Snyder carried the puck into the zone and passed over to Recktenwald. He then wristed a quick shot into Cheswick, who covered the puck, or so he thought. The puck squeaked out of Cheswick’s control, and DeBolt picked up and fired it into the goal. The goal provided a quick spark of motivation for PT that quickly faded.

Penn-Trafford ruled the second period.

Maier netted his second goal of the evening (assist from Burger) at 10:16. The Warriors created a countless number of scoring opportunities, too many for the Indians to handle.

The Indians created the occassional rush down the ice, however, they played defense for the greater majority of the second. With less than a minute before intermission, Maier netted his hat trick goal to put the Warriors ahead 4-2.

Baker turned away a couple of shots seconds before the score, however, the puck (once again) could not be cleared. However, shortly before the goal, Baker appeared to be knocked over by an opposing player. Play resumed as normal, and the puck was in the net just moments after he stood back up.

The third period picked up where the second left off; the Warriors found the net within three minutes into the period. The goal was a power play goal, scored by Sodrosky (assists from Boyer and Maier).

With the score at 5-2, things looked bleak for PT on senior night. However, the team never gave up. This quality is extremely important in a team. Snyder scored his second goal of the night with 3:27 left on the clock to make the game 5-3. After another Warriors’ goal (Sodrosky again), the Indians scored two in the final minute (Recktenwald for both) to make the final score 6-5.

Although the team fell just short, if they know how to play well while trailing, they could see themselves going very far in the postseason. Often, especially at the high school level, players will give up when they begin to lose.

The Indians showed fight until the final buzzer, impressing every fan watching.

The loss drops Peters to 12-4-3 and fifth place in the standings, and boosts Penn-Trafford to 17-2-1, keeping their top spot in the league.

The Indians play again Monday, when they take on fourth-place Mt. Lebanon at the Iceoplex. It is the Indians’ final home game of the regular season.

Editor's Note: Writer Josh Glicksman is a sophomore at ; photographer Austin Chappell is a junior.