Mars comes to life
WARRENDALE — Mars hockey coach Tim Coleman knew his team would be rested — but would they be too rested?
That was the big question following the Planets as they entered Thursday's PIHL Class A quarterfinal game against Hampton.
Top-seeded Mars, which hadn't played a game since Feb. 19, saw the Talbots jump out to an early 1-0 lead.
"We had a layoff of about 2Z\x weeks," said Coleman. "I thought it would take some time to get our motor going.
"We did get a lot of shots early," Coleman added.
Mike Heltman's power-play goal with two seconds left in the first period seemed to spark the Planets, who tallied three more goals in the second period en route to a 5-1 victory at BladeRunners.
Mars (21-1-1) will face Bishop McCort in the semifinal round at 7 p.m. Monday at Mellon Arena.
Hampton (12-10-1) took the early lead when junior Mike Longo rifled a shot past Mars goalie Greg Lewis with 9:06 remaining in the first period.
Talbots freshman goalie Sam Wilson made 11 saves in the first period, but the Planets' 12th shot came from Heltman, who buried the puck in the net off a deflection by Wilson with the man advantage.
"Any time you get a goal at the end of a period, it's a big goal," said Coleman. "The guys came to the bench and you could tell they were much more lively."
Mars took control of the game when they netted a pair of goals in a 25-second span to snare a 3-1 lead.
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Matt Wingert scored off passes by Derek Sitterly and Jake Robash with 7:10 left, then Jake Takach followed with 6:45 remaining off helpers by Justin Wingert and Brady Sipe.When Mars' Tyler Whiteford scored with 14 seconds left in the second period, the game was all but secured. Steve Tracy and Ian Finney were credited with assists."We put (Finney) at the left wing and he's a right-handed shooter," said Coleman. "Finney put the pass right on the net."Sitterly closed out the scoring with 3:39 left as Robash and Whiteford contributed with assists."We really spread out the goals tonight," said Coleman. "I'm not a scoresheet guy. I don't care who scores as long as we win."All four of our lines scored and a defenseman scored. Every line did the job,"Coleman added.The Planets now turn their attention to Bishop McCort, who lost to Mars 4-1 on Dec. 14, their only meeting this year."Right now, it's a three-game season," said Coleman. "The goal is to win the next three games. Bishop McCort has a state championship banner hanging in the War Memorial."(Mars) has the capability to beat everyone. They know they have to go all out every minute of every shift. If they do the job, they'll be a success."<B>Notes:</B> Sean Roach and Mike Mazzotta each picked up an assist for Mars while Joe Paul and Alex Mueller did likewise on Longo's goal. ... Wilson finished with 31 saves while Lewis managed 15.
