Pittsburgh Predators Youth Hockey

RECAP: PITTSBURGH PREDATORS VS BEAVER BADGERS, February 4, 2012 by Nancy Wright

RECAP: Pgh Predators vs. Connellsville Ice Miners, Jan 28, 2012 by Elaine Labalme

PAHL Smackdown in Connellsville, PA:  The Preds, in the right corner wearing blue and gold, bring speed and skill.  In the left corner sporting orange and black, the Miners, possessed of size and heart.  Who will win the fight on Olympic-sized ice?  The team with the most chances (and boy, did they have chances).

The Preds' starting five of CJ Kramer, Ethan Wright, Nate Breisinger, Steve-O Labalme and Jeremy Hurd had jump from the get-go, with Ethan missing on a pretty shot.  A second wave of Lucas Shandor, Andrew Golvash, Jason Kavulic, Lev Azarkhin and Ross Zofcin kept the Miners bottled up in their zone.  Ross even zig-zagged right up to the net but no-go.  A made-to-score front three of CJ, Dakotah Schultz and Dylan Belak pressed but the Miner goalie was forever down on the ice, which is where our shots lived.  And on it went:  Jeremy shoots, E nearly bangs it home; Ko had a chance, and Dylan missed the connection on crisp passing from CJ and Andrew; Ross, Andrew and CJ bounced it around in front of the beseiged Miner goalie but couldn't find the back of the net.  Iron Matt Cortazzo?  Alone at the other end of the rink.  FINALLY, Ko buried a pass from Ethan for 1-0 Preds with 14 seconds left in the frame, at which point the Preds had tallied nine shots to a lone poke for the Miners.

The second opened with a nice breakaway by Ross that didn't yield and a miss by the ever-thrillin' Dylan (those two know their way around the ice).  With the Preds on the power play, CJ missed on a sweet pass from Andrew, and Lev had a golden chance.  The third time was the charm, with CJ tapping home Andrew's garbage for 2-0.  Back and forth action ensued, tho the ice was heavily tilted in the Preds' favor.  Clearly tired of being the bridesmaid, GOALvash was true on his next chance and made it 3-0 Preds.  With the scoreboard showing 16 shots for the Preds to the lone swipe for the Miners, it was looking dire for the home boys, who couldn't seem to find their game.  Maybe all they needed was a group hug cuz the minute they got three bodies in front of our net, they sailed one across for 3-1.  Ethan tried to regain the momentum by firing a wicked slapper from the top of the left circle that Nate tried valiantly to redirect but our boys blinked and the Miners lifted one from the top of their right circle for 3-2.  Ross and Luc had a couple whacks before the period ended, with our boys outshooting their opponent 23-4 yet surprisingly few goals to show for it.  To the Miners' credit, they clogged a lot of ice with their size, tho we could've done more to skate around them since they weren't that swift.

Props to D-men Jeremy, Steve-O, Ross, Lev and the freelancin' Ethan and Jason for holding the (blue) line against a Miner surge in the first half of the third.  It was a bruising battle, with both sides taking penalties and Thrill-At-Will Dyl having the best chances. lifting one on the PK that was just shy and screaming toward the net on another only to be robbed by the netMiner's glove.  Lady luck was on our side as we turned a late PK into a 4-on-4 and ran the clock down for a 3-2 victory.

Although we outshot the Miners 30-6, we'll need quality chances tomorrow if we expect to prevail against ever-tough Southpointe (three words:  lift the puck).  With four games to go, our boys are within striking distance of winning their division and this reporter believes they can do it if they want it.  In the meantime, they're loose and having fun and can we really ask for more?  (Okay, don't answer that.)  All hail coaches Walt, Mike, Ed and Dave for their fine work with this lovable bunch.