April 14, 1986 The pressure was on the Conestoga ice hockey team this year. The team was the defending state champion, and its 1985-86 roster included many of the key players from last year’s squad. As it turned out, the Conestoga skaters did everything expected of them and more. Saturday night, they brought down the curtain on a remarkable season by upending Upper St. Clair, 4-2, in the Class AAA state championship game at the Mount Lebanon Ice Arena in suburban Pittsburgh. The Pioneers concluded their season with a perfect 30-0 record. The victory also gave Conestoga back-to-back state titles and marked the first time in the six-year history of the state playoffs that a team has won the championship twice. This year, Conestoga also captured the Inter-County Scholastic Hockey League regular-season championship, the ICSHL playoff title and the Flyers Cup crown. “It’s been a long year. But we’re 30- […]

April 10, 1986 His hockey team had just been summoned off the Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center ice, another concession to the Rec Center’s always cramped schedule. But as Upper St. Clair High School Coach Dave Hornack drinks in the atmosphere of the final days of this most successful season, he allows himself a second to gloat. Even after a less than outstanding practice. After all, his Panthers will play Conestoga for the Class AAA state title at 6 p.m. Saturday at Mt. Lebanon. “Oh, sure, it feels excellent,” he said. “The way we’re looking at it is this is finally our year to take a state championship. And the kids are obviously excited about it.” It has been a most productive year for Hornack, a first-year head coach who became a father six weeks ago. For many, those two events would suffice in themselves. Hornack inherited a talent rich team […]

April 7, 1985 NEW HOPE, Pa. The score board at Face-Off Circle Ice Rink indicated Pennsbury had beaten Canevin, 3-1, in Class AA and Conestoga had beaten Mt. Lebanon, 6-4, in Class AAA for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League championships yesterday. Canevin, however, did not lose, according to first-year Coach Larry Koch. “There were two winners today,” Koch said. “Pennsbury won the game and the state title, but Canevin won, too. We showed that we belonged to be here.” Koch wasn’t sure where his team belonged when the season began. Canevin had won Class AA state championships in 1983 and 1984, but its coach resigned and its leading scorers graduated. “I don’t think too many people other than the kids themselves gave us any chance of going anywhere,” Koch said. “But the kids continued to improve and all of a sudden they started to believe in themselves. “We ended up […]

April 11, 1985 It is rare that the Mt. Lebanon hockey team gets behind early in a game. Throughout the 1984-85 season, the Blue Devils either got off to an explosive start or kept it close throughout the game before either pulling away or falling flat on their skates. In the state high school championship game on Saturday at the Face-Off Circle Ice Rink in New Hope, Mt. Lebanon did fall behind early. To be more specific, the Blue Devils were losing to Conestoga High School 2-0 midway through the first period and 5-2 with only 1:02 gone in the second period. Mt. Lebanon eventually lost its bid for a state championship, 6-4. “Right from the start, the whole situation seemed anticlimactic. We were so excited coming off the wins over Erie Prep and Upper St. Clair, then we went down there and it seemed like a nothing game,” said […]

April 11, 1985 The reason for Mt. Lebanon’s 6-4 loss to Conestoga in the Class AAA state hockey final last Saturday at Warminster’s Face-Off Circle rink was simple, according to Lebos’ goaltender Hank Horn. “We just got beat by a better team,” Horn said. “I think we played real well and I think we tried our best, but they were better. There’s not much you can do when the other team’s better.” There wasn’t much the Lebos (14- 9-2) could do with Conestoga senior Scott Cowan. Cowan scored four goals, including three in the first period, to spur Conestoga (24-1). Phil Polomsky had two goals for Mt. Lebanon, while Mike Polomsky and Craig Maxwell scored once each. Conestoga held leads of 2-0 and 4- 2 in the first period, going up 5-2 early in the second period on a penalty shot by Chip Graham. Mt. Lebanon made it 5-4 by […]

April 4, 1985 For most high school hockey players, it would have been the game of their lives. But the way Mt. Lebanon goalie Hank Horn and forwards Mike and Phil Polomsky have been playing, last Thursday’s 5-0 victory over Upper St. Clair in the Class AAA Western Regional final was just another night at the rink. Horn stopped 26 USC shots to rack up his second straight playoff shutout. The Lebos’ senior has now made 97 saves in three playoff games, posting a 1.66 goals-against average. The Polomsky twins merely ran amok for the third straight state playoff game as Phil registered three goals and an assist while Mike picked up a goal and four assists. The sophomore twins have now scored 14 of Mt. Lebanon’s 16 play- off goals. John Straub had the other goal for the Lebos. “I expected to beat Upper St. Clair, but I’m surprised […]

April 8, 1985 It has been said that all’s well that ends well, and right now, all’s well with the Conestoga ice hockey team. On Saturday night, the Pioneers ended a banner season by knocking off Mount Lebanon, 6-4, to win the 1985 Pennsylvania state championship. Winning the title helped the Conestoga skaters ease the pain of losing in the Flyers Cup final. It’s not often that a state title game can be considered a consolation game, but that was the situation when Conestoga met the Mount Lebanon Blue Devils at the Face Off Circle in Warminster. The Conestoga boys had had their sights set on winning the Flyers Cup last Monday evening, and everything else was considered inconsequential. But the Cougars of Cherry Hill East provided an unhappy ending for Conestoga when they skated off with a 3-2 victory in cup final. However, the Cherry Hill team was ineligible […]

April 7, 1983 There are people who will say that in 1983, Germantown Academy won a tainted state scholastic hockey championship. But as far as the Patriots are concerned, people can say what they want — the Pats have proven they go best with ice. Germantown Academy, fresh off its second consecutive Flyers Cup championship, capped a truly brilliant season with a 3-1 victory over Pittsburgh champ Bethel Park Saturday to win the Pennsylvania Inter-scholastic Ice Hockey championship. With the victory, the Patriots hope they have discredited, if not laid to rest, the snickering that they did not belong in the first place. The controversy began several weeks back, when Germantown Academy was defeated by Cherry Hill East in the Suburban Hockey League playoffs. Up to that point, G.A. had runoff 22 straight victories, including a win over East in the first game of the playoff finals. The Patriots also […]