After sweating it out several times just to reach the championship game of the 2015 St. Margaret Fall Face-Off, Pine-Richland decided to make life a little eaiser on themselves in their final game.
The Rams used speed and goaltending to run past Central Catholic, 7-2. The win earned Pine-Richland their first championship in the 23-year history of the acclaimed St. Margaret Fall Face-Off.
The 7-2 final score was not as easy as it looked, but it was certainly less stressful for the team than the three shootout wins it survived in their previous four tournament games. The last of those shootouts came in the semifinals against Seneca Valley. That win put the Rams into the final, but it seemed to put them in a precarious situation, as well. Central Catholic had already advanced with a 9-3 blitzing of Butler in a game that started 30 minutes earlier than the PR-SV game and included a running clock at the finish. Meanwhile, Pine-Richland had to hold off a late comeback by Seneca Valley, endure five minutes of overtime play, and convert the only goal in the high-stakes shootout to move on to the 9:30 PM championship contest.
But the Rams proved over the course of the tournament that they thrive under adversity. They held off an early surge by Central Catholic -- including a breakaway stop by goaltender Anthony Szafranski -- before building a 2-0 lead after the opening period of play.
When Jack Drury buried his second goal of the game just 3:46 in to the second period, Pine-Richland had suddenly stretched their lead out to 4-0, despite being outshot by the Vikings. A goal by Central's Sam Deluca closed the Vikings' deficit to 4-1 at the second intermission, but Chris Jenkins scored for the Rams in the opening moments of the third period to put Pine-Richland back up by four goals.
From there, Szafranski led the way, en route to making 33 saves on the night. Nate Carnovale's second tally -- part of his four-point night -- with 6:01 to play ensured that Pine-Richland would not need late-game heroics this time around, and the Rams cruised to the final buzzer.
The first tournament title for Pine-Richland was the icing on the cake to another very successful Fall Face-Off. The St. Margaret Foundation receives several thousand dollars from the event, enhancing the services they provide to countless patients in the area.
For more information on the St. Margaret Foundation, please visit stmargaretfoundation.org or contact Bridget Wilson at 412-784-4215.
