PENGUIN CUP FINALS
A 1 Mars Quaker Valley Mellon Arena Tuesday 19-Mar 6:30 PM

PENGUIN CUP FINALS
AA 1 Latrobe 2 Franklin Regional Mellon Arena Tuesday 18-Mar 7:00 PM


PENGUIN CUP FINALS
AAA 1 Pine Richland 2 Bethel Park Mellon Arena Wednesday 19-Mar 8:30 PM

AA Preview

LATROBE WILDCATS

HEAD COACH: RON MAKOSKI
TOP PLAYERS: JEFF JOE RELUGA - MICHAEL MCCURDY - NICK LOYACONA - JEFF ROSSI - RYAN LaDUKE
OUTLOOK: Latrobe has apparently stumbled in the eyes of many people who follow Class AA hockey with last season losses to South Park and
Greensburg CC. The Wildcats are still a very good club and if they get the goaltending they enjoyed the first half of the season, they can
be outraight dangerous. Head coach Ron Makoski has been down this road before and really knows the Wildcats can be a player in the outcome
of the 2008 Penguins Cup and got a huge lift when Canevin knocked off Franklin in the last week of the season to regain the # 1 seed.
A Semi-Final match-up with West Allegheny is looming if all of the favorites advance and Latrobe would love to return the favor and knock
West Allegheny out of the playoffs this season.

FRANKLIN REGIONAL PANTHERS

HEAD COACH: JIM DAUGHERTY
TOP PLAYERS: EUGENE MACK - TURNER ANDRITZ - PATRICK COYNE - JOHNNY CECERE - JAMES ORR
OUTLOOK: I watch this team and I certainly think that they are a contender for the Penguins Cup. A couple of things need to happen for them
to advance in the playoffs and the first one is that they need to find some leadership. The second ingredient is they need to cut down on
undisciplined penalties and the third thing is they need to play with the lead. If the Panthers get it rolling, look out and if they don't they
could be an early casualty after a pretty good season. I think coach Daugherty got a wake up call against Canevin, how they respond
is up to the players who wear the uniforms and they will have to find it fast.

QUAKER VALLEY QUAKERS

HEAD COACH: KEVIN QUINN
TOP PLAYERS: COLIN SOUTH - GEORGE JACKSON - NOAH ZAMAIGAS - CODY SCOTT - ZACH TAYLOR
OUTLOOK: Leadership is really an important ingredient in winning a State Championship and a kid by the name of South, Furman that is picked up this team
two years ago and vaulted them to their first State Champiosnhip ever. This time that role will fall to younger brother Colin, who despite the Mik Lemieux exodus,
has three pretty good players to help him in George Jackson, Noah Zamagias and Cody Scott to help the cause. The Quakers will need goaltending and Zach
Taylor has improved. I relly think the determining factor will be coaching and I think Kevin Quinn holds a lot of cards in deciding this Penguins Cup and his
team will be ready to go when the bell rings and if they can defeat a hot Serra club they will have a rubber match with Mars.

MARS PLANETS

HEAD COACH: TIM COLEMAN
TOP PLAYERS: GREG LEWIS - JAKE ROBASCH - IAN FINNEY - MIKE HELTMAN - MICHAEL MAZZOTA
OUTLOOK: Mars beat # 1 Class AAA Pine Richland in the pre-season and then rolled through the first two months of the season clobbering the Class A
field to an undefeated first half. Then Freeport tied them and Quaker Valley beat them pretty handily. What I liked about the Quaker Valley loss was the way the
Planets kept coming at the Quakers throughout the contest after the outcome was well in hand. This is a team that really believes they are going to win the
Penguin Cup in 2008 and a # 1 seed will be very helpful to getting them to Mellon Arena. The goaltending of sophomore Greg Lewis will be the key as he has
played the best of the top three contenders, which is a very important cog. I like the Planets to venture where no Mars team has ever gone, but will have a tough
task in defeating Serra or QV.

PINE-RICHLAND RAMS

HEAD COACH: BOBBY KENNEDY
TOP PLAYERS : DYLAN TROMBETTA - GEORGE SAAD - BRANDON SAAD - EVAN GOETZ - REED LONEY - KYLE ADAMS
OUTLOOK: Pine Richland has waltzed through the regular season undefeated through mid-February and is the odds on choice to take its third consecutive Penguins Cup
and first ever at Class AAA. Bob Kennedy's club has opted to not play in any other games outside of the PIHL, which may work against his club in the playoffs, but in hindsight
his players may be well rested and injury free going into the playoffs because of it. Expect the Rams to go to the Penguins Cup and if they get to the State Final it could set up
and interesting final against LaSalle, who would be favored over PR. One interesting sidelight is that the # 1 seed in the post season has won the Penguins Cup Class AAA
only once in the past four years and that was Mt Lebanon in 2006 and they went on to win the Pennsylvania crown.

HEAD COACH: JIM 'MORT' MCVAY
TOP PLAYERS: TOMMY WHETSEL - MATT QUIGLEY - TYLER TROCANO - TYLER SHIPLEY - NICK MACHI
OUTLOOK: Bethel Park won the 2007 Pa Hockey Scholastic Showcase and looked revitalized and healthy in early January, but the Hawks hit the skids in February with losses
to Central Catholic, Shaler and Meadville in the Blackdog Cup. Jim McVay will have to get his team back on track in the playoffs and will have to go on the road in round 2.
The Blackhawks are very capable of getting to the final four and beyond, The balance of their two top lines will carry them and their defense and
goaltending will need to step it up to pull off some upsets. Don't count out Mort, he's always thinking of ways to get the Hawks where they need to go.