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NEVILLE ISLAND - Montour coach Paul Bonetti was scratching his head prior to his squads game with Latrobe and mainly because the Spartans were punished 7-0 by Keystone Oaks in their last outing. Ron Makoski's Wildcats on the other hand have been impressive in the second half of the season in seizing the PIHL AA East lead. David Fitzgerald got Montour off and running with a one time slapshot past Matt Bloom at 7:44 of the first period. While Montour controlled the play of the period, Latrobe's Nick Loughner nearly tied it with a shot off the crossbar with :35 left in the opening frame. In the second period,Latrobe went on the power play and they should have declined the penalty as Freshwater intercepted an outlet pass and buried a wrist shot upstairs at 12:33 and all the sudden the Spartans were up 2-0. Then, Joe Federoff got into the act as he wheel around the Wildcat goal and fed Fitzgerald in close and he scored to make it 3-0 at 5:41. Tim Armanious scored on a Kevin Lace rebound just forty seconds later to get Latrobe on the board at 3-1, but Montour came right back as Fitzgerald to Freshwater back to Fitzgerald was the recipe for a 4-1 lead at 4:30 of the second. Phil Supan added a power play goal on a pass from Federoff and the Spartans took a commanding 5-1 to the locker room. Fitgerald added his fourth goal of the evening on a slick shot down on the ice at 8:40 of the third period to extend the lead to 6-1. Latrobe's Josh Fajt closed out the scoring at 7:18 to make the final 6-2. Montour's great puck movement proved to be the difference as the Spartans scored a big victory for home ice playoff positioning for the upcoming playoffs.

MONROEVILLE - Scoreboard watching is a favorite pastime in February for Pa Hockey fans around the Keystone State. While Central Catholic and Plum set to square off in a battle of division leaders, Plum coach Stu Relnick and Vikings coach Kevin Zielmanski were playing the 'what if' game. Zielmanski was hoping Allderdice would upend Shaler to give CC a chance to clinch a division title and Relnick was hoping that Hempfield would win its first game at the expense of Gateway, which had its moments but didn't happen. Allderdice had a 3-0 lead, which Shaler erased and won with :04 left in OT. Therefore, earning the division title was still at hand as the teams faced off at the Golden Mile. The first period was marked by good goaltending at both ends as Russ Hefner and BJ Schreib, both stopped several quality chances. Then an innocent flip which landed in the Central zone turned into opportunity as Robbie Tunon found the puck an slid it to Travis Senchur, who went upsatirs on Hefner at 2:27 to give Plum the 1-0 lead. Early in the second, Plum looked to add to its lead as Sergio Somma was all alone in the slot, but Viking defenseman Zach Roberts, when down a blocked a golden scoring opportunity at 14:21. The Vikings started to build momentum and Pete Wood scored on the backhand over a fallen Schreib to tie the game at 13:11. Then the 'dirty birds' went to work as John Chmiel's shot was redirected by Jeff Race at 9:09 over the Plum goaltender's shoulder to give the Vikings the lead. The top Viking line did their rendition of the 'dirty bird' dance in front of their bench in celebration. That goal fired up the Vikings and Race put a huge hit on a Mustang defenseman behind the goal and gathered the puck and spun in the same motion with a backhand to beat Schreib just 16 seconds later to extend the lead to 3-1. Central outshot the Mustangs 33-19 on the night and held them off the board in the third as Race added an empty netter and gave CC a big 4-1 win and moved the Vikings a game from clinched the PIHL North. The loss for Plum sets up a showdown with two meetings with Gateway for the PIHL East title beginning next week.

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Harmarville - Plum coach Stu Relnick knew his club would face a red hot and desperate Fox Chapel club, which knocked his Mustangs out of playoff contention last season. Plum was looking to return the favor to the Foxes this season, as FC needed to win its remaining games to secure the final playoff berth. Plum looked to take the lead early at 11:19 as Rob Tunon's shot skidded across the goal line and off the post. Then the Foxes goaltender Todd Hendry was whistled for throwing his stick, which resulted in a penalty shot being awarded to Travis Senchur at 5:15 of the 1st. Senchur moved in on Hendry and made no mistake wristing one by the Foxes goalie to give Plum the 1-0 lead. On to the second and Lenny Blatnica's breakaway attempt went sailing over the crossbar and into the net above the glass, nearly missing a goal. Fox Chapel responded as Matt King got a breakaway and pulled the puck around B.J. Schreib and into the net to tie the game at one apiece. The Foxes were looking for a big third, but Ian Beitler quickly made the Foxes pay as he tipped a Dan Coyle shot past Hendry to give Plum the lead at 14:23. Then Beitler stripped the FC defense of the puck and beat Hendry on the short side with 4:56 remaining. Fox Chapel pulled their goaltender with 2:11 remaining but could not beat Schreib, who made several good saves down the stretch in the third. For the Mustangs, they are now one step closer to clinching a playoff berth and a division title.

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