Hockey

By Mike Azadian:

Open Class Nailers Cup Semifinals:
Wheeling Park Patriots 5 - Blackhawk Cougars 2

In PIHL Nailers Cup semi final action the Wheeling Park Patriots come to Beaver County and beat the Blackhawk Cougars by a score of 5-2. The Cougars were looking for Revenge for their only home ice loss of the year as the Patriots came in on Valentines day and won 6-3 in a game they dominated from the 2nd period on. Well tonite it was more of the same as Blackhawk could not score on Park goalie Noah Clune. They had chances, they missed numerous opportunities. They had a 5-3 power play late in period two,early in period three for over 4:00 minutes and scored once, going 1-6 on the man advantage. Opportunities around the net found pucks bouncing over sticks, odd man breaks found passes missing team mates sticks. Blackhawk couldn't catch a break even though they out shot Park 38-26. The Patriots scored first at 16:01 of the first period as Michael Grove scored on a rebound near the net and they led 1-0 after the 1st. They would net two more in the second scoring two goals within 2 minutes and 16 second as Porter Knollinger and Nico Catalano both scored and it was 3-0 Patriots heading into the 3rd. Blackhawks leading scorer Darin Braudis made it 3-1 with a wicked wrist shot from just inside the point, finally solving Clune on the power play but less than 3 minutes later Knollinger scored again to make it 4-1. The Cougars Kyle Schaffer made it 4-2 with less than 2 minutes to play, but Catalano scored an empty net goal to give Wheeling Park the 5-2 win. The Cougars end their season at 18-3-1 and say goodbye to Braudis, Nick Gray, Josh McCuean, and Brett Peacock as the four seniors played their last game. The Patriots will move on and play in the Nailer Cup final on Thursday February 28th at Robert Morris University Island Sports Complex versus the winner of Harbor Creek Morgantown game at 6:00pm

Open Class Nailers Cup Quarterfinals:
Blackhawk Cougars 7 - Canon-McMillan B-Macs 1
At the Beaver County Ice Arena in quarterfinal action of the Nailers cup the number one seeded Blackhawk Cougars roll to an easy victory over the Canon Mac B team 7-1. The Cougars will move on to play in the semi finals on Tuesday February 26th at home versus the number 4 seeded Wheeling Park Patriots at 6:00pm. They will try to avenge a late season 6-3 loss to the Patriots in order to move to the Nailers Cup final. Blackhawk scored three first period goals to jump to a quick lead, Daren Braudis, Cameron Houk, and Kyle Shaffer all had tallies as the Cougars had twelve shots on goal. In the second period they would score three more. Robert Swinderman, Cory Steinle, and Brett Peacock would make it 6-0. The Cougars played great defense allowing only 10 shots on goalie Grant Rombold thru 2 periods while they pumped 31 on two different Big Mac goalies. Nick Gray would have the play of the game getting the puck at the Blue line, skating to the middle of the circles with two players on him and firing a shot for the 7th goal. Canon Mac would finally score in the 3rd period but it was too late as the Cougars wouldn't be denied. Final shots on goal were 40-20 in favor of the Cougars. Blackhawk would go 1-5 on the power play,and Canon Mac would go 0-5. For Blackhawk 10 of the 16 players dressed would have a point as they spread the scoring around in a balanced attack of three lines and three sets of defenseman. When Senior defensman Peacock had his first goal of the season  every varsity regular finally has scored a goal. It was a nice moment for the senior who is the ultimate team player.

Wheeling Park Patriots 6 - Blackhawk Cougars 3
In a game played on Valentines day at the Beaver County Ice Arena the Blackhawk Cougars in their final regular season game, lost to the Wheeling Park  Patriots by a 6-3 score.The Cougars fall to to 17-2-1 and will be off until February 24th when the Open Class playoffs start. As of right now they will be the number one seed and will have a 2nd home game February 26th if they can win their fist round game. The semi Final will be February 28th at the Neville Island Ice Arena Robert Morris sports complex. The Patriots fired 19 shots on Grant Rombold in the first period and he made 18 saves. Michael Grove had the Patriot goal opening the scoring at 12:57. The Cougars Dalton Linton had the lone Blackhawk first period tally. Blackhawk had 7 shots on goal. In the 2nd period Grove again would open the scoring this time at 14:17 to make it 2-1 Wheeling Park. The Cougars scored the next to to take their lone lead on the night. Nick Gray scored on the power play at 12:16 followed by a Daren Broadis goal at 9:16 to give Blackhawk a 3-2 advantage. Grove scored again at 8:00 to tie it at 3-3 giving him the hat trick. Into the 3rd Period the Patriots would tally three more goals and win going away. Grove would score two more goals giving hm 5 on the night in a magnifcant performance. he would have had 6 but was stopped by the goal post on a penalty shot. Blackhawk had only 21 shots on goal to the Patriots 40. For the Cougars they rotated 3 lines and 3 sets of defensman getting everyone playing time as they had a playoff berth sewed up and the number one seed virtually assured. Wheeling Park improves to 15-3 on the year.

Blackhawk Cougars 3 - Ambridge Bridgers 2
At the Beaver County Ice Arena the Blackhawk Cougars win a close hard fought game over division opponent the Ambridge Bridgers by a 3-2 score. These two teams faced each other in the second game of the year an easy Cougar win by an 8-2 score. Blackhawk with a playoff spot wrapped up and the most wins, (17), and points, (35) in the Open division of the PIHL coming into the contest started strong and had 24 total shots in the first period on Ambridge goaltender Parker Charlton, but the Bridgers scored first on a breakaway by Tim Stahoviak at 13:38 his 8th of the year to give Ambridge a 1--0 lead. A little over 2 minutes later Kyle Shaffer would score his 28th goal of the year, also on a breakaway to tie the game at 1-1. Blackhawk out shot Ambridge 24-8 in the period. The Cougars were 0-2  on the power play, and Ambridge was 0-1. In the second period, the Bridgers scored first to take their 2nd lead of the game. Chris Ponter intercepted an errant pass in his defensive zone and score his 3rd of the season at 6:54. He went up ice, went around a Cougar defender, and at the left face off circle blasted a shot off the far post and in, for a 2-1 Ambridge lead. At the 13:33 mark Daren Braudis scored hi 47th of the year to tie the score at 2-2. He got a pass from Josh McCuean at his feet, faked a defender at the blue line while shuffling the puck from foot to stick then faked out the goalie for a terrific goal. Just three minutes later Dalton Linton would get the game winner his 11th of the year. A shot from the point by McCuean, was tipped in the front by Linton for the go ahead and eventual game winner. Again the Cougars would outshoot the Bridgers this time 18-6. Both teams would also fail on the power play once each. The third period saw no scoring, and the Cougars out shot the Bridgers 17-8 for a game total of 59-22. Blackhawk wasn't successful on their power play and went 0-4 on the night. Ambridge ended up at 0-2. The three stars were: 3rd star was Kyle Shaffer with the opening goal for the Cougars. 2nd star went to Ambridge's Parker Charlton the Goaltender who saved 56 of 59 shots. The number one star was Josh McCuean

{C}{C}{C}{C}Blackhawk Cougars 4 - Morgantown Mohawks 2
In a game played on Thursday January 10th the number one ranked Morgantown Mohawks with a 9-1-1 record including an early season 4-2 victory over the Blackhawk Cougars in Morgantown visited the home standing Cougars in a much anticipated one versus two match up. The Cougars at 11-1 came in as the 2nd ranked team in the MSA Sports Open class rankings. Blackhawk would avenge its only loss with a stunningly easy 7-3 victory and establish themselves as the team to beat in the Open Class. Defense rules early in the first period as the Mohawks played dump and chase but the Cougars defense was up to task. The four main defenseman, Josh McCuean, Brett peacock, Devon Gabauer, and Cameron Houk all were able to corral the puck and get quick outlet passes up the board or to center ice to the forwards to thwart the Morgantown attack. Just 2:05 in to the period Blackhawk would open the scoring on a goal by Kyle Schaefer, assisted by Robert Houk to make it 1-0. Just 1:37 later Daren Braudis would score at 3:42 on a vicious slap shot from the right circle after moving around a defender to make it 2-0. 3;20 later Braudis again would score, this time from the right circle and hot the top left corner of the goal to make it 3-0. At 12:03 Dalton Linton made it 4-0 Cougars on a tip in front of the net. Blackhawk was rolling and 1:57 later Braudis scored his third goal of the period  on the power play to make it 5-0.Morgantown finally dented the scoreboard on a goal by Connor Leone to make it 5-1 at the end of one period. Shots on goal were 10-9 Cougars who had excellent goaltending by Grant Rombold.
The second period was played much closer as the Cougars out shot the Mohawks 17-13 and only two goals were scored. The first by Braudis again at 6:25 to give Blackhawk a 6-1 lead. Morgantown would make it 6-2 on a goal by Caleb Richards and at the end of two periods it looked very easy for the Cougars as the led easily and were never really challenged. Morgantown had only given up eleven goals all year and tonites goaltender Keegan Fall had given up only 6 all year and had a 0.80 GAA, and a .956 save %. The Cougars with 4 players with over 27 points in 12 games and two defenseman in their top 5 of scoring were averaging almost eight goals a game at 7.91. Into the third period at 6;15 Braudis  would score again this time short handed and  thru the five hole to make it 7-2. The scoring would end as the Mohawks got a goal by Austin Babb to make the final 7-3. Third period shots on goal were  14-3 Mohawks and a game total of 36-30 Morgantown. The Cougars were led by Braudis with 5 goals. His superior skating and shooting ability have put him in the top three of the Open Class in scoring most of the year. He know has 34 goals and 17 assists for 51 points in 13 games, 3.92/game.  Schaefer had a goal and an assist, McCuean had 3 assists. Grant Rombold made 30 saves on 33 shots. The three stars of the game were. 3rd star was McCuean with 3 assists, 2nd star was Rombold with 30 saves, and the number one star and MSA SPORTS player of the game wasBraudis with 5 goals. 3 even strength, 1 shorthanded, and 1 power play. The Cougars improve to 12-1 while the Mohawks fall to 9-2-1. The next game for Blackhawk will be on Monday March 14th at 8:30 PM at John Marshall

Blackhawk Cougars 11 - Central Valley Warriors 1
In a game played on December 13th the Blackhawk Cougars played their first game as part of the MSA Hometown Broadcasts. They took on the Central Valley Warriors who were 0-6 on the season at the time and having a rough season. The Cougars in the Open Class of the PIHL were 7-1. It didnt take long for Blackhawk to show why they are one of the better teams in Open Class this year in the early stages of the season as they scored three goals in the first 2;12 of the opening period. Daulton Linton his first of the season on an assist by Devon Gabauer opened the scoring and was followed by goals from Josh McCuean  (9th) and Cory Steinle (3rd). McCuean would score again at the 11:49 mark  his 10th on the season and second of the game and Robert Swinderman his 6th of the year at 15:07 to end the first period at 5-0 Cougars. They out shot the Warriors 30-4 and completly out skated, and out worked them. Central Valley opened the scoring in the 2nd period on a goal by Jonathan Polumbo to cut the score to 5-1 but  Blackhawk would score three more goals in the 2nd period. Steinle his second of the game  and 4th on the year, Nick Gray his 5th of the year, and McCuean again, his third of the game, the hat trick and 11th of the season to make the score 8-1 after two periods. Again they out shot the Warriors badly this time 24 shots on goal for a two period total of 54. Into period three with a running clock and the mercy rule McCuean would score his fourth goal of the game and 12th on the year to make it 9-1, and the Cougars would get two more goals to finish off the Warriors Linton his 2nd of the game and 2nd of the year, and finally near the end of the game Daren Braudis one of he leading scorers in Open Class got his 25th a short handed goal,  to close the scoring at 11-1. The Cougars pumped 20 more shots on goal for a game total of 74 to easily beat the Central Valley Warriors. Ten different players scored points for the Cougars five had multiple points led by McCuean with 4 goals and 2 assists. Linton had 2 goals and an assist, Gray a goal and 3 assists, Steinle 2goals and 2 assists and Braudis with a goal and assist. The Cougars improve to 8-1 on the season and Central Valley has another hard loss and falls to 0-7. The MSA Three Stars of The Game were 3.  Cory Steinle with 2 goals and 2 assists, 2. Nick Gray with 1 goal and 3 assists, and the number one star was Josh McCuean with 4 goals and 2 assists.

Blackhawk Charity Game
On December 22nd the Blackhawk Hockey association held their first Face-Off against Cancer Alumni game live on the MSA Sports network.  With the proceeds benefiting the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition research via Nae Nae's Nightingales they were able to raise well over $4000. Anyone interested in donating to this cause can go to www.ovarian.org.The national anthem was sung bu 2011 Cougar graduate and Nashville recording artist Vanessa Campagna, there was an honorary puck drop featuring a local nurse Renea Esoldo, and the NOCC spokesperson Mary Urban spoke and honored Cancer survivors. Besides attendance, other ways money was raised were by having the ever popular Chuck A Puck where you purchase a puck, then in between periods everyone throws the puck to center ice with the closest to center ice winning half the pot. There was a Chines Auction drawing and a 50/50 raffle as well. The format for the game was as follows The Blackhawk Varsity/ Junior Varsity would play all four periods. All periods were 20:00 each. The Alumni team was broken down into two rosters as 29 Alumni signed up.  Team C as comprised of graduates from the years 2006-2010. Team D was comprised of graduates from 1998- 2006. Each team had one former goalie on their roster. Also included in the festivities was an appearance by the Blackhawk development team with kids between 8-12 years old. The performed in between periods. In the first period The Varsity started of strong and went up 2-0 on goals by Nick Gray and Daren Braudis, but Team C  got a goal by Tyler Starn (2009) to cut it to 2-1. Dylan Rankin scored for the Varsity and it was 3-1 after the first period. The second period saw the Alumni Team D ties the score with two quick goals one by Dan Kleck (2006) and the other by Dave Stepanion who was the coach from 1998-2006. With the score tied 3-3 the varsity got charged up and scored 2 more to end the period, one by Braudis his 2nd and 3rd of the game to make it 5-3 varsity after 2 periods. To start the 3rd period Alumni Team C scored three straight to take a 6-5 lead. Tyler Pico (2009), Garrett Swanson (2010, Tom Graw (2010) had goals before the varsity would score two. The first by Robert Swinderman tied it at 6-6, the second by Kyle Shaeffer gave the Varisty the lead  again. But Team C would tie it at 7-7 as Chris Peterson (2007) hit the net late in the period. a very entertaining and exciting game thru three periods but the Varsity was spent as team D was well rested and the Varsity just ran out of steam. Team D would score  6 straight to dominate the period to go up 13-8. Their goals were by Jake Polas (2006) who had 3, Rob Hawthorn who had 2, and Mike Rossman (1998). The varsity would score the last goal from Josh McCuean to make the final 13-8 Alumni over the Varsity. The 3 stars of the game were 3. Rob Hawthorn of the Alumni with 2 goals and 2 assists, 2. Darren Braudis of the Varsity with 3 goals, and the number 1 star Jake Polas of the alumni with 3 goals and 3 assists.  In all 8 Varsity players would score points, and for the Alumni would have 12 different players score points, 6 on each team. A final mention to the goalies. For the Varsity Grant Rombold had to go all 4 periods as the Cougars other goalie was sick and could not participate. he was peppered with shots and saw over 60 shots. Even though giving up 13 goals he made some very good stops thru out the first 3 periods and was one of the top players of the game three three periods. For the Alumni Team C Jason Brognano (2006) gave up 5 goals combined in periods one and three, and  John Fitzgerald (2004) gave up 3 goals in periods two and four. Overall the event was a rousing success as the Beaver County Ice Arena was about 3/4th full. In talking to organizers they plan on continuing this benefit. The Blackhawk Hockey team also participates in walks for charity among other events to give back to  the community. After the game Pizza and soft drinks were served to all the participants. Many of the Alumni were still so excited they asked when they could sign up for  next year. Event organizers hope with even more Alumni participating next year the Varsity can sit a few periods, and even more money can be raised for next year.

FACE OFF AGAINST CANCER:
Join the Blackhawk Hockey Association on December 22nd for their "Face-Off Against Cancer" charity game on December 22nd at Brady's Run Ice Arena.  For all the details, CLICK HERE.