Going the distance
A dominant regular season guarantees nothing once a team reaches the postseason.
Members of Mars’ junior varsity hockey team maintained the effort and focus that carried them to a 14-1-1 record and the results were striking.
The Planets outscored their three playoff opponents by a combined score of 18-3, culminating with a recent 5-0 shutout of Chartiers Valley to claim the PIHL Junior Varsity Tier III championship.
“It’s something we worked all season for,” said freshman Jack Weaver. “Seeing it all come together, winning a title with all of my buddies, it was great. That’s what it’s all about, winning with your friends. Everybody pulled their weight.”
The team had an unremarkable start, going 0-2-2 in a preseason tournament in Delmont. To begin the regular season in September, Mars dropped a 3-1 decision to Butler, then settled for a 3-3 tie with Meadville.
“The kids just needed to learn how to win,” said Mars coach Jeff Mitchell. “After they did, they just kept going and refused to lose.”
A 5-3 victory over Avonworth in the third game got the Planets on the right track and they never looked back, going unbeaten and untied over the final 17 games.
The dominance with which Mars handled the postseason was an extension of the regular season it turned in. The Planets outscored their final 14 foes by a cumulative total of 78-22 and they entered the postseason tournament as the top seed.
“We hadn’t lost in 14 games, so we were playing with a lot of confidence when the playoffs started,” said freshman Ethan Vactor. “We had a really good team and knew we could win it all, even before the season started.”
The Planets quickly gained momentum in all three tournament contests, scoring a combined nine goals in the first period while allowing none. They defeated Butler 8-1 and Neshannock 5-2 to set up the showdown with Chartiers Valley for the league crown at Ice Castle Arena in Castle Shannon.
“One of the things we worked on during the season was having the players take shorter shifts,” Mitchell said. “They’d work really hard for short periods of time and it was really effective for us.”
While the Planets had finished first in the Division 1 standings, Chartiers Valley won Division 2. The teams did not meet in the regular season.
“I knew they had two really good goalies,” Mitchell said. “Our plan was to get as many people and shots to the net as possible.”
Xavier Bossola and Vactor beat goalie Bradyn Palko with goals just 28 seconds apart. Mars had set the tone and the Colts never recovered. They managed just 18 shots on goal, with Carter Gallagher earning the shutout.
Balanced scoring was integral to the Planets’ success. Six players scored at least eight goals during the season, with Vactor (14), Bossola (13) and Ethan Dasilva (10) reaching double figures.
Weaver led the squad with 11 assists.
“We worked as a team,” Vactor said. “We passed the puck a lot because everybody on the team can score.”
Alex Gatto, Colin Stevenson and Cooper Stevens led a staunch defense, helping Gallagher (8-0) and Adam Goul (6-0-1) go undefeated in net. Goalie Willow Starkey earned two victories.
“We were a very young, but talented and hardworking team,” said Mitchell, who was assisted by Nick Bruce. “I couldn’t be more proud of the kids.”
Julia Konitzky served as team manager.
Mars' junior varsity roster included: Sean Crowley, Jack Weaver, Cooper Stevens, Grant Weaver, Colin Stevenson, Nick Rushe, Joey Santa, Dylan Van Horn, Paul Konitzky, Adam Goul, Carter Gallagher, Ethan Vactor, Alex Gatto, Lukas Hixon, Max McKee, Christian Bowser, Jake Golebiewski, Willow Starkey, Sean Brennan, Xavier Bossola, Ethan Dasilva, Matthew Lestitian and Keegan O'Leary.
