Quaker Valley Ends Mars 3-Year Run as PIHL Class A Penguins Cup Champions

By: Bruce Markey
Saturday, March 24, 2012 | 3:42 PM

The Mars Fighting Planets three year stay atop the PIHL Class A championship hill has come to an end. Their three Penguins Cup title in 2009, 2010 and 2011 are now bookended by championship loses to Quaker Valley. Ryan Dickson scored two goals and Clayton Bouchard added a goal and assist as the Quakers won their third PIHL Penguins Cup and first since 2008 with a 4-2 victory Saturday afternoon at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh.

The game had a tentative start to it as both team came out and played a conservative style with few great scoring chances against Mars goaltender Christian Knapp and Quaker Valley netminder Doug Revak. The Fighting Planets actually outshot the Quakers 8-7 in the opening period.

But Quaker Valley took control in the second period, outshooting Mars 12-1. The game remained scoreless until QV capitalized with the man advantage just over six minutes into the period. Bouchard collected his own rebound on the doorstep and slid it past Knapp to make it 1-0.

The Quakers then took control by scoring three goals in a span of 1:26 in game time in the final minute of the second period and the first minute of the third period.
Ryan Dickson scored the first of his two goals with 54 seconds left in the second period when he did a little spin-a-rama move coming down the left wing side and beat Knapp with a wrist shot to make it 2-0

With time running out in the second, Dickson, with his back to the net in the slot, redirected a Ryan Lottes shot from the right point with only three seconds left to make it 3-0 Quakers.
If that late goal didn’t break the back of the three-time defending champs, then the next goal did. Sophomore Jimmy Perkins took a beautiful pass from Jayson Lottes from behind the net and snapped a wrist shot high over the glove hand of Knapp to make it 4-0 Quaker Valley only 32 seconds into the third period.

But the champs wouldn’t go quiet. They made things interesting when senior forward Robert Foley scored twice in a nearly three minute span. Foley bounced a loose puck past Revak to break the shutout with four and a half minutes left to put the Fighting Planets on the board. Then parked to Revak’s left, Foley gathered a loose puck and went upstairs to make it 4-2 with a minute 25 left in regulation. Mars pulled Knapp for an extra attacker, but could not get any closer as the torch was officially passed.

Mars season ends at 19-3-0 with two of those loses coming at the hands of QV.
Quaker Valley improves to 20-1-1 and has little time to celebrate before playing for the Pennsylvania Cup state championship tomorrow at Robert Morris University’s Island Sports Complex on Neville Island against Class A Flyers Cup winner West Chester-Rustin at 3:00pm on MSA Sports. 

Score by Period:
Mars : 0 – 0 – 2 = 2
Quaker Valley : 0 – 3 – 1 = 4

Shots on Goal:
Mars : 8 – 1 – 5 = 14
Quaker Valley : 7 – 12 – 5 = 24

Bladerunners Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
None
2nd Period:
QV:  Clayton Bouchard (unassisted)  6:08  {PPG}
QV:  Ryan Dickson (Bouchard)  14:06
QV:  Dickson (Ryan Lottes)  14:57
3rd Period:
QV:  Jimmy Perkins (Jayson Lottes)  :32 
Mars:  Robert Foley (Craig Mazzotta, Max Master)  10:39
Mars:  Foley (Mazzotta, Nick Blaney)

Mount Lebanon Ice Arena Play of the Game:
Ryan Dickson’s deflection goal with 3 seconds left in the second period

First Niagara Bank 3-Stars of the Game:
#1 – Ryan Dickson of Quaker Valley
#2 – Jake Pilewicz of Quaker Valley
#3 – Robert Foley of Mars