Conestoga Ice Hockey Wins 2nd Straight Title

Team parent Micahel Donovan sent this account of the game into TE Patch:

Yogi Berra’s unique wisdom – “It’s like deja vú all over again” – came to life last week at the high school varsity ice hockey championships.

For the second year in a row, Conestoga defenseman Zach Paro scored the game-winning goal with under two-minutes to play, capturing the Central League Inter-County Scholastic Hockey League championship over Penncrest High School Friday night at Iceline in West Goshen.

Asked about Paro, Conestoga senior goalie Robert Donovan said, “Zach is ‘Mr. Clutch’.  He came through against Radnor last year, and did the same thing against Penncrest this year.  He’s our team’s captain for a reason.”

Despite losing ten players from their 2010-11 squad, the Pioneers put together an undefeated league season as they entered the playoffs. “We have a lot of experienced players who played in the playoffs last year, so they know what it’s like to play in a big game,” senior forward Griffin Lee said.

‘Stoga started the scoring on the game’s first shot from sophomore Mike Switucha.  Senior center Doug MacDonald flipped a sweet pass to Switucha in the high slot and the sophomore wristed it past Penncrest senior goalie Dan Ardekani.

From there the two teams traded goals, with Donovan turning away 28 of 30 shots from Penncrest’s talented and aggressive squad, including four blasts by senior captain Matt Menta.

‘Stoga senior forward Tim Quinn, the league’s leading scorer, put his team ahead in the second period on a wrap-around goal after a pass from Lee and senior Will Turanski.

But Penncrest tied the game (2-2) three minutes later just after ‘Stoga killed off a two minute penalty by senior Jonah Schrager.  Powerful senior defenders Brody Shea and Brian Campbell were caught in their zone on the long change when Penncrest senior Evan Del Casale snapped a hard shot off Donovan’s short-side shoulder.

The game winner came in the third when Paro lifted a shot over two diving Penncrest defensemen, quieting the huge crowd from Penncrest but igniting boisterous cheers from the ‘Stoga fans.

‘Stoga is headed to the Flyer’s cup as the 5^th seed in the AA division, with a first round game against Parkland High from Allentown on Tuesday, March 6 at Iceline.  If they advance, the Pioneers will play in the second round on March 12 at Warwick.  The championship will be played at the Wells Fargo Center after the Flyer’s game on Sunday, March 18.