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One last hurdle for Mars

ADAMS TWP — Name recognition won't be an issue for Mark Manganello Saturday.

The Mars assistant hockey coach again will be running the show from behind the bench for the Planets as coach Steve Meyers is still on his honeymoon.

On Sunday, Manganello guided Mars to its third consecutive Penguins Cup Class A championship.

On Saturday, he'll look to lead the team to its second straight state title when the Planets (23-1) face Flyers Cup champion Springfield (13-1-2) at 11 a.m. at the Ice Line Quad Rinks in West Chester.

“I don't know a thing about them,” Manganello admitted. “We'll come out with our three lines, play the first five minutes and adjust if needed.

“We'll do what we can to send these seniors out with the successful ending they deserve.”

The Planets have 10 seniors on their roster, including goalie Tyler Stepke. He posted a 1.52 goals against average and a .909 save percentage during the regular season.

Forwards Chris Greco, Robert Sigurdsson, Tyler Thomas and Blake Friday; defensemen Colt Berneburg, Hunter Sacchini, Kevin Leslie and Ryan Magdenic; and goalie Walker Enstad are the others playing their final games for Mars.

Sigurdsson scored 22 goals in the regular season while Friday had 15. Leading scorer Elliot Tisdale (33 goals, 68 points) and 21-goal scorer Joe Bender are juniors.

Sixteen-goal scorer Rob Foley centers Tisdale and Sigurdsson on Mars' top line. Austin Heakins centers Bender and 17-goal scorer Nick Blaney while Thomas centers Russ Miller and Max Master.

Defensive pairings are Leslie and Berneburg, and Magdenic and Greg Makozy.

“These kids have been pretty focused in recent games,” Manganello said. “A lot of our guys play on travel teams, so they're used to Saturday morning faceoffs. They'll be ready.”

The Planets are leaving for West Chester today. Manganello said the team has a 5 p.m. practice time slot at Ice Lines.

“We'll try to take advantage of that, just to get familiar with the ice surface and the building,” he said.

Springfield was the No. 4 seed in Flyers Cup championship and won three of its four tournament games by one goal — 2-1 over 13-seed Sun Valley, 3-2 over No. 5 West Chester Henderson and 3-2 over No. 3 Unionville in the title game.

Junior goalie Mike Rice sports a 1.91 GAA and a 91.8 save percentage for the Cougars. He's been stellar in the playoffs, allowing only seven goals on 130 shots for a 94.6 save percentage.

Senior forward and captain Dave Allen scored 16 goals in 12 regular season games and has no goals, seven assists in four playoff games. Junior forward Conor Doyle has nine goals in the regular season, two in the playoffs.

Freshman Ryan Brawley has scored six goals in four playoff games. Junior forward Billy McGugan leads Springfield in playoff scoring with four goals and four assists.

Mars has outscored its opponents 54-1 in six games since suffering an 8-5 loss to Kittanning on Feb. 3.

Springfield coach Phil Eastman could not be reached for comment.

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