Penguins Cup: An Instant Classic

Last night a terrific sporting event took place at the Penn State Ice Rink before an animated and totally engaged crowd of more than 500 fans. 

Made up primarily of State High students and friends and family members of the State College Varsity Hockey team, the home crowd was pitted against an equally boisterous and loyal bus load of Canon McMillan students and fans and car loads of parents and supporters from the school located south of Pittsburgh.

It was the PIHL ‘Penguins Cup’ Quarterfinals, and the winner would earn a birth in the Western PA semifinals and a chance to skate one last time on Mellon Arena Ice. Pittsburgh’s venerable old landmark ‘Civic Arena,’ which opened in 1961, will be torn down later this year as the Penguins move next door to the new Consol Energy center.

(Little known fact: The Civic Arena was designed by a Penn State architecture graduate and was considered one of the most unique buildings of its day, built mostly of steel made in Pittsburgh with a motorized roof that could open for concerts and shows.)

Not only did the battle live up to the pre-game hype, (State High had beaten CM 2-1 in the regular season), it really was an ‘Instant Classic.’ It was pure drama, great entertainment, and one of the best-played high school hockey games I have ever seen. Ultimately, it was a painful reminder that life isn’t always fair and the proverbial ‘Hollywood ending’ doesn’t always come true.

State High lost the gut-wrenching game by a final score of 2-1. The Little Lion Icers led the whole game until 5 minutes remained. CM tied the game and then scored again with 1:49 left. State High coach Gary Stidsen pulled goalie Joey Abruzzo, who played a strong game in net with 26 saves, and with the extra attacker, State High threw everything it could at CM’s goalie.

CM’s netminder played an amazing game for the visitors including several athletic and acrobatic saves to stymie the home team throughout the contest.

Great game, great crowd, tough loss. What makes it tougher is that this State High team had one of the best regular season performances in school history. I have known most of the players since they were beginner skaters, instructed many of them at camps and clinics, and have gotten to be friends with many of their parents.

It hurt to see their hurt, especially the seniors: Christian Conlon, Nick Michael, Zach Siggins, Erik Stidsen, and Mac Weiler. A terrific group of young men who deserved a better fate in their final game at the PSU Ice Rink, where many of them have played for over a decade.

Kudos to the coaches (Gary Stidsen, Steve Conlon, Andy Wilson, and Jim Leous) as well as the parents and volunteers who make a lot of sacrifices so the program can be strong year after year.

I had the pleasure of working behind the scenes as a ‘consultant’ of sorts, meeting with Coach Stidsen at the Waffle Shop for early morning discussions about drills, tactics and strategies. I even got the chance to spend some tine with the team at practices and meetings for the later part of the season.

It was a blast for this old coach to get to work, even briefly, with such a great group of players and dedicated volunteers and coaches. They allowed me to go along for a ride that ended sooner than it should have, but nonetheless, these young men left a mark on the history of the program and represented themselves, their families and their school with class.

I had tears in my eyes as I watched these kids come into the locker room drained emotionally as well as physically. They left everything they had on the ice, gave the fans from both schools a memorable performance, and although the outcome wasn’t what any of them had hoped for, they will look back at this season years from now with tremendous pride.

It doesn’t make the loss any easier to handle, but these young men really did compete in an ‘Instant Classic.’ Hold your heads up high, gentlemen, and thanks for allowing this old coach to be a small part of your incredible season.