USC Hockey Has Unfinished Business

The PIHL AAA Penguins Cup championship game at CONSOL Energy Center Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. will hold a few different meanings for Upper St. Clair.

For starters, it's the first title berth for the Panthers since 1996, and an opportunity for their veterans to finally hoist a championship trophy after two seasons of semifinal exits. It is also a chance to get payback on section rival Canon-McMillan, the defending champion who beat them twice during the regular season.

So it's business and it's personal.

"I want to beat Canon Mac," said captain C.J. Murray. "They beat us twice this year, once pretty badly, once in overtime, so we want to get them back."

Upper St. Clair led AAA with 119 goals during the regular season, but defense has become the name of their game in the postseason.  

The Panthers have allowed only two goals in their two playoff games, including a 2-0 shutout of no. 1 seed Fox Chapel in the semifinal last Monday. They have averaged a paltry 1.69 goals against in their last seven games.

"I think I've known for a while they can do it, and they're realizing what they can do," said head coach Larry Marks. "If they want to get into a shootout with somebody, they can. If they want to play a defensive game, they can do that, too."

Everyone on the team agrees the reasons for the change are their greater attention to defense and the play of sophomore goaltender Michael Ambrose, who has stopped 64 of the last 66 shots he has faced in the postseason.

"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."

"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."

Murray, the second-leading scorer in AAA during the regular season, has yet to score a goal in the postseason and has registered two assists. However, sophomore forward Luke Stork has picked up the slack with four points, including a goal in each playoff game.

"Storky is, hands-down, one of the best players on this team, if not the best two-way player," Selep said. "Hopefully he doubles that in the championship game."

Leading the charge for Canon-McMillan is senior forward Brett Oldaker, who tallied a hat trick in the Big Macs' semifinal win against Bethel Park last Tuesday. Oldaker has a goal and three assists so far against the Panthers this season.

Upper St. Clair is riding a five-game winning streak that dates back to a 4-3 overtime loss to Canon-McMillan on February 3, so something will have to give in this third meeting.

"When Sunday comes around, this game isn't going to matter," Ambrose said after the win against Fox Chapel, where he notched his first shutout. "It's a new game, a new team, and we have to play just as hard as we did [last Monday].

The team has rallied around its senior leadership, recalling past shortcomings and reinforcing a tough physical and mental mentality to help them reach their goal.

"We want to stay sharp," Murray said. "We need everybody in this next game, so we want to be strong physically and mentally."

"We're ready for them," Selep said about Canon-McMillan. "They beat us twice this year, so now it's time to get them back."