Sports
Peters Hockey Falls Short to Bishop Canevin in Penguins Cup Quest
Bishop Canevin defeated Peters Township, 5-2, in Sunday night's Class AA PIHL championship game.
After a dominating performance over Chartiers Valley in the , Peters Township fell short in its quest for a Penguins Cup as Bishop Canevin defeated the Indians 5-2 in the Class AA PIHL championship game last night at Consol Energy Center. Peters Township head coach Rick Tingle believes that the Crusaders’ pressure in the defensive zone was the key to the game.
"They got on us in the defensive zone and if you pin somebody back like that, that’s how you take control of a game. And that’s how they took control," Tingle said. "We tried to adjust in three different ways, but we just weren’t able to adjust enough."
Bishop Canevin took a two-goal lead into the second period, as the Crusaders were able to dominate the puck in the first. But Peters Township was able to get on the scoreboard with just over eight minutes left in the period, when Davan Groom found the back of the night.
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However, just over 30 seconds later, the Crusaders’ Randy Unger retaliated with a goal of his own to put Bishop Canevin back up by two goals. Tingle believes that was the goal that deflated his Indians.
"That was a killer," he said. "We felt right then you could see the bench pick up, that made it 2-1. Then they came back and got that third goal. That was ultimately the killer."
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The Crusaders would add the backbreaker with 9:02 remaining in the game, as Mike Mannsman scored a powerplay goal to put Bishop Canevin up 4-1. Five minutes later, Matt Walsh recorded his third point on the game, as the junior forward scored to stretch the lead to four goals.
Benny Zalewski would score late for the Indians to make the game 5-2, but the lead was insurmountable.
And while the sting of a loss may hurt for a little, Tingle is proud of the way his team played all season long, and everything they were able to accomplish.
"When you lose, it sucks," he said. "There’s no other way to frame it or make it sound good or feel better. But these guys got us here. Sure it would be nice to have a Penguins Cup and they know that, but they played hard all season long. It was fun to be a part of."
