Central Region

JOHNSTOWN - Discipline is an overused word in the vocabulary of hockey coaches, but when the playoff bell rings, often the key component that seperates moving on and going home and making banquet plans is discipline. Westmont head coach 'King Arthur' Art AcQuillan could write theology on that subject when it comes to the playoff fortunes of his beloved Hilltoppers over the past decade. Mars is the new kid on the block and has sliced and diced the Class A competition, like the vega-matic to an 8-1-0 record atop the North Division, yes I said North Division, tied with Westmont. The Hilltoppers came out and pressured Mars early and Brian Terek scored on the backhand just 30 seconds in. The Planets answered on the power play as Bobby Beckert tipped a Steve Myers shot past Steve Costic to tie the game at one apiece at 8:32. Westy had a chance to regain the lead but Mars goaltender Bill Youngker robbed David Maslak from point blank range with 3:45 left in the first period. In the second, the Planets pressured and then got a little overzealous as it put the Hilltoppers on a 5 on 3 power play. With top scorer Myers in the box, Westmont made the most of its opportunity as Justin McClosky scored on a rebound at 12:18 and Sean Dorian added another just 41 seconds later to up the lead to 3-1. Mars struck back at 8:32, as Bob Brill scored a power play goal to cut the lead to 3-2. Both teams fought for territorial advantage, as Westmont worked the puck deep and Mars tried to control the play with puck posession and after two, the shots were dead even at 18-18. On to the third, and Westmont seized a two goal lead as Sean Dorian's lazy wrister snuck past Youngker to give the Hilltoppers a two goal cushion at 12:12. Then McClosky scored his second on the power play just 42 seconds later to seal the victory for Westmont. The Planets outshot the Hilltoppers 25-24, but will go away from this pivotal game with a hard lesson of discipline. The victory for Westmont sets up a big showdown, with crosstown rival McCort in the opening game of the WPHCA Scholastic Showcase, as the probable top two teams in Class A will square off December 26th at 7:30.