Cups runneth over
PITTSBURGH — Serra Catholic had a window of opportunity. Tyler Stepke slammed it shut.
Mars' junior goaltender stopped all 11 shots he faced during a scoreless first period, then watched his team's offense come alive for a 4-1 victory in the Penguins Cup Class A title game Saturday night at Mellon Arena.
The Planets (23-2) won their 10th straight game and second consecutive Penguins Cup championship.
"I feel like we are," Mars coach Steve Meyers said, when asked if the Planets are the premier hockey program in PIHL Class A. "Back-to-back Cups certainly point to that and we have more depth than most teams we play.
"We try to take advantage of that whenever we can."
Like on Saturday night.
The Eagles (20-5) managed only 10 shots on goal in the final two periods. Serra Catholic dressed 12 skaters to go with goaltender Garrett Hudson while Mars had a full bench.
"We weren't jumping on loose pucks like we were in the first period," Serra coach Brian Boehm admitted. "If you fall behind a team like Mars, they make it tough on you."
The Planets managed only four shots in the first period. A potential fifth rang off the crossbar nine minutes into the game.
Austin Heakins and Mike Mazzotta got loose for a 2-on-1 break while the Planets were shorthanded. Mazzotta took Heakins' pass and rifled it over Hudson's shoulder, but off the crossbar and out of play.
"Just a hair too high," Mazzotta said. "That would have been a big one, but we made up for it later."
Mars scored three times in just over five minutes to begin the second period and take control of the game. Elliot Tisdale snapped the scoreless tie on a backhander through traffic that Hudson never saw, just 25 seconds into the period.
The goal was the sophomore's seventh of the playoffs and 30th of the season.
Robbie Sigurdsson made it 2-0 barely two minutes later. Tisdale fired a puck toward the front of the net that Mazzotta knocked down waist-high. Sigurdsson was alone in front to collect the loose puck and put it in.
Heakins poked in his own rebound 5:20 into the period to give the Planets a 3-0 lead. Mazzotta drew assists on all three of those goals.
"Mike missed a few games with us this year because of his obligations with the (junior) Youngstown Phantoms," Meyers said. "He and Tisdale work so well together on the ice."
Mazzotta missed five games this year, including the Planets' 7-2 quarterfinal win over Quaker Valley.
Mars has outscored its opponents 18-6 thus far in the postseason. Serra Catholic had its 13-game winning streak snapped."You have to jump on that team to beat them," Boehm said. "This game featured two of the best goalies in the PIHL in Hudson and Stepke. I thought Stepke stepped up and won this game for them in that first period."We were pounding Stepke. We had two early power play chances. That was our opportunity and he stoned us."Meyers wasn't concerned about Serra's territorial domination early."I figured we'd wear them down," he said. "That's why we used four full lines all night. You could see them slow down."Stepke agreed."Yeah, I could tell," the Mars goalie said. "From my position, you can see the difference in the pace of the game. They didn't have anything left late."Jarrett Ruchka cost Stepke a shutout when he beat him with a high wrist shot 6:22 into the second period. Mazzotta iced the game with a flamboyant unassisted goal with 3:11 left in the contest.Mazzotta skated around two defenders and scored with his body in mid-air, parallel to the ice.Mars' victory earned it a rematch with West Chester-Bayard Rustin for the Class A state championship at 11 a.m. Thursday at Mellon Arena.Bayard Rustin shut out the Planets, 5-0, in last year's state finals."We didn't do a whole lot of celebrating after this game because our kids were hoping for another shot at those guys," Meyers said. "Another Penguins Cup was one of our goals. Our biggest goal is winning that last game."<B>Mars 4, Serra Catholic 1</B>Serra 0 1 0 — 1Mars 0 3 1 — 4First PeriodNo scoringPenalties: M-Ron Sigurdsson (hooking) 4:07, SC-Tyler Kresl (holding) 6:31, M-Elliot Tisdale (hooking) 8:50<B>Second Period</B>M-Elliot Tisdale 7 (Mike Mazzotta) :25; M-Sigurdsson 2 PP (Mazzotta, Tisdale) 3:15; M-Austin Heakins 1 (Mazzotta, Tisdale) 5:20; SC-Jarrett Ruchka 3 (Erik Manetta, Tyler Speis) 6:22Penalties: SC-Garner Kraemetr (tripping) 2:38, M-Blake Friday (holding) 5:46, SC-Jay Leppo (interference) 7:48, M-Nick Blaney (tripping) 10:46<B>Third Period</B>M-Mazzotta 2 (unassisted) 11:49Penalties: SC-Robert Kendl Jr. (tripping) 2:19, M-Tisdale (interference) 6:43<B>Shots on goal — </B>Serra Catholic 11-5-5-21, Mars 4-16-7-27<B>Power play opportunities — </B>Serra Catholic 1-for-5, Mars 1-for-4
