USC Hockey Faces Tough Test In State Title Game

During their quest to win their first PIHL championship in 20 years the Upper St. Clair hockey team beat three section champions, one of them being the defending league champion in Canon-McMillan.

Now, in order to win their third state championship in program history and first since 1987, the Panthers will have to beat LaSalle College, winner of three of the last four Pennsylvania Cup titles.

No pressure.

Of course the Panthers will have a few advantages of their own when they take the ice at the Ice Line Arena in West Chester, Pa. Saturday afternoon: for starters, they have a high-scoring offense that led PIHL Class AAA in goals, averaging nearly six per game.

The Panthers are getting the bulk of their offensive production from their top two lines. The first line -- seniors Michael Segerdahl, Justin Selep and C.J. Murray —each scored a goal in the Penguins Cup final, while the second line — junior speedster Steve Gielarowski and sophomores Luke Stork and Michael Sweeney —have combined for seven goals and five assists in the postseason.

The second line has accounted for the game-winning goal in all three postseason games, with Sweeney scoring the capper in each of the last two.

"I think think we have two very, very good, solid lines, and I think at any time any one of those six players can score goals," head coach Larry Marks said.

Upper St. Clair also has a defense that has allowed an average of only 2.13 goals per game during their current eight-game unbeaten streak, a testament to how the team has adopted an approach that values solid play on both ends of the ice.

"I think I've known for a while they can do it, and now they're realizing what they can do," Marks said. "I think playing that type of game — whether it's wide open, or they want to play a defensive style — you learn how to play it and you do what you have to do."

Not to be forgotten is the stellar play of sophomore goaltender Michael Ambrose, who has a goals against average of 1.67 in the postseason.

"He's playing great," Murray said. "He works his hardest in practice, off the ice, on the ice and everything. He's seeing the puck like a beach ball right now, so it's awesome to have that behind us."

"He's just very fundamentally sound," Marks said. "He's extremely sound in goal, he squares up to the puck extremely well and on the first shot doesn't give [the other team] many opportunities."

While the Panthers' expectations for what they will see come 4 p.m. Saturday may not be definite, they are confident in their ability to bring home yet another Cup.

"I have no idea," Murray said when asked what he expected to face in the state title game. "I don't know how the Philly side of high school hockey is, so we're going to show up and play like we do as a team, and hopefully we come up with a victory."

"I think we're one of the best teams out there when we all play together and keep our head and no arguing on the bench," senior defenseman Parker Phillips said. "We're going to take this winning streak to states and hopefully win that."