Parkland ice hockey team was knocked down, but will get back up for state title game

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/

FROM KEITH GROLLER

The Parkland ice hockey team lost its first game of the season on Tuesday night.

Unfortunately, that loss came in the Flyers Cup Division AA final.

The Trojans (20-1-1) fell to Cherokee, N.J., 6-3, at the Warwick Ice Arena.

But the team isn't done. They have an even bigger game on Saturday at the Ice Works Skating Complex in Aston, Delaware County.

Parkland can ease the sting of Tuesday's disapointment and then some by beating Penguins Cup champion Latrobe.

Latrobe (19-3) won the Penguins Cup title on Wednesday night with a 5-0 win over Pine-Richland at the Consol Energy Center.

Trojans coach Gery Chandik was disappointed that things didn't go better on Tuesday.

"It started good and we had it knotted up early in the second period when a 'too many men on the ice' penalty turned the game around," Chandik said. "It was 2-2 and then basically we had a bad line change, got the penalty, and they got a power play goal. Then they tacked on two more to make it 5-2. That just broke us.

"The way I take it and the way the kids took it, it's like we're in mourning right now. We're standing out there on the ice for a long ceremony after we lost. They come up and shake our hands and everything. And they congratulated us for doing so well for being a No. 11 seed. They said we should be proud, and we should be. But we weren't satisfied. That's our makeup. We wanted to be in the final, but we wanted to go farther."

They still have that chance.

Chandik said he expected his team to get over the loss and be ready to roll on Saturday.

"I think they'll respond very well," Chandik said. "They'll realize what they're playing for pretty shortly here. Obviously, to be a state champion is pretty darn good and that's what we're going for now. We'll be up for the game, believe me. We've just got to get over it."

Chandik said he thought Cherokee was the best team Parkland faced this season. Cherokee had lost the year before in the Flyers Cup final to Central Bucks South, 5-2, when the Chiefs gave up three third-period goals. They were determined to avenge that defeat.

"They were fast, they moved the puck well, and they made crisp passes," Chandik said. "They were always in motion. I wish we would have played them before because then we would have known more what to expect. If we played them again, it might be a different story. But they were a deserving champion. They were definitely the best team we've played."

But this is the best team in Parkland history and Chandik knows his kids have one more good performance in them.

"We're going to give it our best shot," he said.

Here's the boxscore from Tuesday's Flyers Cup final:

Parkland 1 1 1 – 3

Cherokee 2 3 1 – 6

Goals: P-Nicholas Chandik (Brett McHale), 5:11; Colin Pratt (Jake Hulsizer, Chandik), 4:43; Morgan Bensinger (Hulsizer, Ryan Dumbach), 14:52. C: Brian Miller (unassisted), 9:38; Dylan Bradley (Casey Forte), 11:06; Cole Zucker (Aaron Huffnagle, Forte), 8:12; John Martino (Huffnagle), 12:25; Zucker (Huffnagle), 13:02; Miller (Huffnagle), 11:07.

Saves: P-Robert Stock 24; C-Jim Witkoski 8