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PREVIOUS GAME SUMMARIES:

TIGERS RALLY TO BEAT PREP, 4-2

Trailing by two goals in the third period, the Tigers rallied to down Cathedral Prep, 4-2, at the Erie Civic Center on Thursday night.  Goals by junior forwards Matt Pekins and Derek Rusbarsky tied the game with just over six minutes remaining.  Senior forward Billy Weiler poked in a rebound to give the Tigers the lead with 4:54 left, and senior forward Joe Smarto scored an empty net goal to secure the victory.

In the first period, Andrew Callaghan scored a power play goal with 9:57 remaining in the first period to give the Ramblers a 1-0 lead.  The Tigers managed only four shots in the period as the teams went to the intermission with Prep holding the one-goal lead.  In the second period, the Tigers came alive, recording 20 shots on Rambler netminder Ryan Zapolski.  The Prep goalie made numerous acrobatic saves to keep the Ramblers in front, 1-0, after two periods. 

It looked bad for NA when Mike Stachera scored for Prep just 2:20 into the final period to give the Ramblers a 2-0 advantage.  The Tigers answered, however, a little over a minute later when Pekins scored at the 11:51 mark.  NA continued to pressure the Prep goal and tied the game when Rusbarsky scored on assists from Smarto and junior defenseman Ryan Sheran.  Weiler got the eventual winning goal late in the period on a rebound from junior forward Brandon Lied's shot.  With 48 seconds left, Smarto ignored a vicious slash to put the insurance goal into the empty net as the Tigers won an impressive road victory at Erie.

The Tiger defense, led by senior defensemen Joe Williams, Jason Ryan,  and Jon Bishop, along with juniors Matt Zrebiec and Ryan Sheran and sophomore Paul Dittrich, were able to hold off the Ramblers in front of junior goalie Jeff Kristan to ensure the victory.  The Tigers outshot Prep, 38-20, with a 34-13 advantage over the last two periods.  The Tigers improved their PIHL record to 2-0 in the early season.  NA will host archrival North Hills next Friday night at Bladerunners in Warrendale.  Game time is set for 9:20 pm.

(Special thanks to Jim Pekins for the information in this report!)

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 4  CATHEDRAL PREP - 2

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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TIGERS POUND PENN HILLS, 8-0, IN PIHL OPENER

To listen to a replay of the game, click here!

Senior forward Joe Smarto scored a pair of goals to lead the Tigers to an 8-0 victory over the Penn Hills Indians at Bladerunners on Tuesday night.  Seven different players scored goals for NA as the Tigers won their opener in PIHL play.  The Tigers dominated play, outshooting Penn Hills, 40-3.  

The Tigers controlled play during the early part of the first period but could not beat Penn Hills goalie Nick McKeever.  NA had three great chances during their first power play of the game with Smarto and senior captain Bryan Maloney coming close.  The Tigers finally broke through with a three-goal outburst in a span of a minute and eleven seconds.  Senior forward Billy Weiler poked in a rebound with 5:57 left in the period to start the scoring.  Just nineteen seconds later, Smarto got his first goal on a rebound to make it 2-0.  With 4:46 left, sophomore Ian McGlumphy redirected a shot into the net to give NA a commanding 3-0 advantage at the end of the first period.

In the second period, senior Bobby Daly replaced junior starter Jeff Kristan in goal.  Neither goalie would be tested by Penn Hills.  For most of the period, the Tigers continued to dominate play and peppered the PH goal.  Finally, with 6:18 left in the stanza, junior forward Derek Rusbarsky banged in a rebound to make it a 4-0 NA lead.  The Tigers outshot Penn Hills, 11-1, in the period.

The Tigers erupted for four goals in the third period to complete the rout.  Early in the period, Maloney lifted a backhander high into the Indian goal to give NA a 5-0 advantage.  Smarto got his second goal on a rebound after senior forward Ian Fitzpatrick skating through several PH players down the right wing and put the initial shot on goal.  Just forty-four seconds later, junior Brandon Lied skated into Penn Hills territory, cut to his left, and beat the second Penn Hills goalie, Zach Cullen, to make it a 7-0 NA lead.  Junior Garrett Waldschmidt finished the scoring with a power play goal with just 4:31 left in the game to give the Tigers their first league win.

Two Tigers came up big in the assist department with senior defenseman Jonathan Bishop and Fitzpatrick both garnering three assists on the night.  Senior defenseman Joe Williams and junior forward Matt Pekins added two assists each to the scoring total for the winning Tigers.

The Tigers will be back in action tomorrow night when they travel to Erie to meet the always tough Ramblers at the Erie Civic Center.  Game time is set for 8:15 pm.  NA will return home next week when they take on archrival North Hills on Friday night at Bladerunners in Warrendale.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the game LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 9:10 pm.  Game time is scheduled for 9:20 pm.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 8  PENN HILLS - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

PENALTIES

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TIGERS WIN TWO IN PHILADELPHIA

The Tigers traveled to Philadelphia over the weekend to meet two of the top teams in the Philadelphia area.  In the first game, NA defeated LaSalle, 4-2, as junior Brandon Lied tallied twice.  Junior forward Garrett Waldschmidt scored the game winner with junior Derek Rusbarsky adding an insurance goal.

On Saturday, Malvern Prep downed the Tigers, 5-1, with senior Billy Weiler scoring the only NA goal.  On Sunday, NA shut out Downingtown, 7-0, to pick up their second victory in Philly.  Senior Bryan Maloney and Waldschmidt led the scoring with a pair of goals each, while Waldschmidt, Rusbarsky, senior Joe Smarto, and senior Ian Fitzpatrick each added a goal.  Sharing the shutout were Brandon Weidwald, Danny Carozza and senior Bobby Daly.

The Tigers will open play in the PIHL season on Tuesday, November 4, when they host the Penn Hills Indians at Bladerunners in Warrendale.  Game time is set for 7:50 pm.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the game LIVE on the internet.  Be sure to join Don Vandergrift and Jordan Dee for all the action, live or archived.  The Tigers pre-season record is now 7-2.

Thanks to Jim Pekins for the information in this report.

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SMARTO'S GOAL BEATS PLUM, 2-1, IN FOURTH OVERTIME FOR TOURNEY CHAMPIONSHIP

Senior Joe Smarto stole the puck from a Plum defenseman and scored with 2:19 remaining in the fourth overtime to give NA a 2-1 win and the championship of the St. Margaret's Fall Face-Off Tournament.  Matt Pekins power play goal had tied the game in the second period.  Good defense and great goaltending by Jeff Kristan preserved the victory.

In a well-played game with only two penalties, Plum took the early lead in the first period.  Travis Senchar went upstairs with a power play goal with 4:08 left in the period to give the Mustangs a 1-0 advantage.  NA outshot Plum, 10-8, in the period, but Mustang goalie J.P. Balson made several good saves to keep the Tigers scoreless.

In the second period, the Tigers turned up the pressure, outshooting Plum, 13-6, but were unable to beat Balson until late in the period.  Pekins was able to slam a rebound of a shot by Joe Williams to tie the game at 1-1 with only 59 seconds remaining in the period.  Garrett Waldschmidt won a big face-off to get the puck back to Willliams.  

The Tigers controlled play for most of the third period, but neither team was able to score.  Plum had a chance to win it in the closing seconds of regulation time.  John Kalichuk came in all alone on a breakaway by was forced to shoot wide by Kristan. 

 In the first three five-minute overtime periods, NA again had chances but were stopped by Balson.  Finally, in the fourth OT, Smarto was able to score the game winner.  The Tiger forward lifted a backhander under the crossbar, and NA had won their second championship in three years at the St. Margaret's Tournament.

NA outshot Plum, 43-26, in earning their third straight victory.  Credit the Tiger defense for shutting down a Plum team that had been averaging over 5 goals per game.  Matt Zrebiec,  Ryan Sheran, Joe Williams, and Paul Dittrich all played well in front of Kristan.

(Special thanks to Jim Pekins for information in this report.  Some information courtesy of PA Hockey)

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 2  PLUM - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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TIGERS BLAST FRANKLIN REGIONAL, 6-1, TO ADVANCE TO FINAL

The Tigers outscored Franklin Regional, 6-1, in the semifinals of the St. Margaret's Tournament at Bladerunners in Harmarville on Tuesday night.  Derek Rubarsky got the Tigers off and running when he tipped in a shot by Ryan Sheran at the 8:04 mark of the first period.  Matt Pekins added an assist on the goal as NA led, 1-0, at the end of the first period.

In the second period, Pekins scored, assisted by Bryan Maloney and Garrett Waldschmidt to make it 2-0.  Matt Zrebiec scored on an end-to-end rush  to give the Tigers a 3-0 advantage after two periods.  Goalie Jeff Kristan picked up an assist on the goal.

The Panthers scored with just under six minutes remaining in the game  to cut the lead to 3-1, but the Tigers were not finished scoring.  Joe Smarto tallied a pair of goals and Brandon Lied added another as NA pulled away to a 6-1 victory.  Kristan was strong in goal again as the Tigers used a good team effort to win their second straight. 

NA will meet Plum tomorrow evening for the championship of the tournament.  Game time is set for 8:30 pm at Bladerunner's in Harmarville.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 6  FRANKLIN REGIONAL - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING (NA ONLY)

(Thanks to Jim Pekins for information in this report)

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TIGERS BEAT NORTH HILLS, 5-0, IN OPENING ROUND OF ST. MARGARET'S TOURNAMENT

The Tigers opened their season with a 5-0 victory over North Hills in the opening round of the St. Margaret's Tournament at Bladerunners in Harmarville.  Senior Joe Smarto had a pair of goals to lead NA as the Tigers broke open a 0-0 tie in the third period.

North Hills goalie Casey Dudt-Mulzet kept the Tigers off the board for the first period even though NA peppered him for 32 shots.  Ryan Sheran, Matt Pekins and Joe Camut all scored for the Tigers as they broke the game open in the final period.  Goal Jeff Kristen posted the shutout while facing only eight North Hills' shots.

The Tigers will meet Franklin Regional tonight in the semifinals of the tournament with game time set for 8:30 at Bladerunners in Harmarville.  The winner of the NA-Franklin Regional game will take on the winner of the Fox Chapel-Plum contest on Thursday night at Bladerunners.  Game time for the final is scheduled for 8:30 pm.

NORTHEAST CONFERENCE - NORTH DIVISION STANDINGS
as of 11/14/03

WPHCA PRE-SEASON - PENGUIN CUP ELITE "8"
COACHES POLL

Any questions or comments should be directed to Athletic Director Bob Bozzuto at:  bbozzuto@northallegheny.org