March 13, 2009
HAVERFORD — Steve Karpinski took a seat in the penalty box at the start of the third period. The diminutive Haverford High senior captain was whistled for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the waning moments of the second period. Perkiomen Valley agitator Nick Ehret was yapping his mouth at Karpinski, and after some pushing and shoving, both players spent two minutes in the sin bin.
Karpinski isn’t that type of player. He usually lets his play do the talking.
“I kind of got caught up in the moment,” he said. “It probably shouldn’t have happened. I had to keep my cool.”
Karpinski is more useful on the ice dominating than serving time for what Fords coach Brian Cleary called “a mental mistake. “We were letting that team get in our heads,” Cleary said. “They are a great team, and they gave us everything they had. What Steve did wasn’t right. They were taking us off our game, and we allowed that to happen, especially in the second period when they took the lead.” Sure enough, Karpinski was back on the ice in the third period and delivered the game-winning goal as sixth-seeded Haverford claimed a 5-3 win over No. 11 Perk Valley in the opening round of the Class AA Flyers Cup tournament at the Skatium Thursday night.
Karpinski netted eight goals in two Central Division playoff victories last week, including five in the championship win over top-seeded Conestoga. He has 12 points in three postseason games. The Daily Times Player of the Year is, Steve Karpinski.
*In addition to winning the ice hockey All-Delco team player of the year, Karpinski was also named to the All-Delco baseball team later in July after graduating.
All-Delco Team
Brian Dolan – Monsignor Bonner Friars
Brian Newman – Cardinal O’Hara Lions
Greg Johnson – Marple Newtown Tigers
Matt Maccario – Springfield Cougars
Mike Marconi – Cardinal O’Hara Lions
P.J. Menta – Penncrest Lions
Steve Coll – Cardinal O’Hara Lions
Steve Karpinski – Haverford High Fords
By Matt Smith
The Daily Times
