PIHL Penguins Cup Recaps – Wednesday, March 5th

By: Bruce Markey
Thursday, March 6, 2014 | 12:27 AM

The Quarterfinals in Class AA and Class A were played out on Monday and Tuesday while Class AAA played out the opening round. While the other three round two games are slated for Thursday, the spotlight shined on top-seed Bethel Park against upset-minded State College. Here is the recap from the lone Penguins Cup Playoff game on Wednesday.

PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS AAA Quarterfinals:

Bethel Park Black Hawks 4 – State College Little Lions 1
Jake Worcester recorded a season-high four points and Chris Siak scored a pair of goals, lifting top-seed Bethel Park (18-3-0) to a 4-1 victory over #10 State College (10-11-1) in the AAA Quarterfinals at Bladerunners in Bethel Park. Worcester scored the first and last goals for Bethel Park and assisted on both of Siak’s tallies. At 9:10 of the first period, Worcester started the scoring with a breakaway goal off a long outlet pass from Derek Lesnak, who finished with three assists in the game. Worcester would tuck the puck behind State College goalie Chris Rosselot, giving Bethel Park a 1-0 lead after the first period. State College’s Brendan Horgas would then take a pair of second period penalties, the second of which would set up Siak’s first goal. The bomb of a slap shot from the right point went by the left shoulder of Rosselot, giving Bethel Park the 2-0 lead. For the first 30 minutes of the game, State College was unable to establish any cycle or sustained pressure in the Bethel Park zone and were only able to muster nine shots in the first two periods. But before the end of the second frame, Lucas Michael would get the Little Lions their lone goal. At the 14:18 mark of the period, Sey Yeaple would deflect a clearing attempt by a Blackhawks defenseman. The loose puck would find Michael in the left circle, who then rifled it low past Bethel Park goalie Will Lowe, cutting the Blackhawks’ lead to 2-1. Lowe, who started for Bethel Park when they lost to State College 2-1 on January 31, would get retribution, stopping 17-of-18 shots in the contest. Before the end of the third, State College’s Robert Waite would take a rare delay of game penalty for freezing the puck with his glove in a corner scrum. The penalty, which carried over into the third period, set up Siak’s second powerplay goal – an identical play to his first strike. Worscester would add a shorthanded, empty net goal with 0:37 remaining, giving Bethel Park the 4-1 victory. The Blackhawks move into the PIHL AAA Semifinals next Wednesday at RMU’s Island Sports Center.