Upper St. Clair Hockey: Welcome

 



ANNUAL BANQUET - APRIL 18TH

The USC Hockey Annual Banquet will be held on Sunday, April 18th at the Southpointe Hilton Garden Inn.

Check in is at 5:30PM with dinner served at 6:00PM.  Banquet invitiations have been distributed by the team managers and all families are asked to RSVP to Cindy Gielarowski by April 4th.



UNFINISHED BUSINESS: USC 4 PENN TRAFFORD 0

For the second consecutive year the USC varsity hockey team reached the PIHL final four and earned a trip to the Mellon Arena.  This time, however, the ice surface of the Penguins is not a novelty; it's a jobsite.  After the bitter disappointment from last year's overtime loss, the Panthers worked all season for another shot at the title.  The quarterfinal 4-0 shutout over the Penn Trafford Warriors was simply a necessary step toward that singular purpose.   

Matt Wregget was superb in net stopping all 20 shots faced.  Among the stops was a sick, contorted, anatomically impossible save which preserved the tenuous 2-0 third period lead the Panthers were nursing at the time.  Equally terrific was the quartet of defenseman--Mitch Lewis, Parker Phillips, Rob Schneid and Andrew Schmitt--who kept the Warrior attackers away from the USC netminder.  Impressively, the penalty killing units staved off all 6 PT power-plays including a critical 1:26 two-man Warrior advantage.   

The game was scoreless until the 7:53 mark of the first when CJ Murray tipped in a rebound of a Justin Selep backhand.  James Kline also assisted on the play.  The lead was doubled with 1:59 remaining in the first when Selep batted in a Kline shot with Murray earning the second assist.  After a scoreless second period, Selep scored again off a Kline rebound stretching the lead to 3-0 with 6:55 left in the contest.  Steve Gielarowski put a dagger in the Warrior hopes with 2:37 remaining on an unassisted short-hand goal to account for the final 4-0 margin of victory.     

Next up for the Panthers is the semi-final at the Mellon Arena.  The game will take place either Monday, March 22 or Tuesday March 23.  The opponent depends on the outcome of the three remaining quarterfinal games.  Details to follow.   

Be there!