March 26, 2002
The Patriots topped Archbishop Ryan, 3-1, to advance to the Class AA state title game.
Archbishop Carroll finished an improbable journey last night, winning a third straight Class AA Flyers Cup championship by beating Archbishop Ryan, 3-1, at Ice Line. What was so unlikely about the title for Carroll, traditionally a strong program, is that the Patriots started the season 1-12-2 and appeared to be going nowhere in early January. The Patriots’ Stefano Tecce provided the game-winner, snapping a 1-1 tie with 5 minutes, 28 seconds left in the game. Tecce broke in on Ryan goaltender Rich Leith with a quick move in front of the net, then slid the puck into the net. Carroll goaltender Ken Diorio preserved the victory with a number of big saves in the final three minutes. Tecce provided insurance with an empty-netter with 27.8 seconds remaining. Carroll, which has gone 12-1 over its last 13 games and is 13-13-2 overall, advances to the Class AA state championship game for the third straight year and will face Peters Township Saturday at Rostraver Ice Gardens in Western Pennsylvania at 2:30 p.m. “We had the mentality that if we got to this game, we’d just play good defense and capitalize on situations,” said Tecce, who was the leading scorer in the tournament, with four goals and seven assists in Carroll’s last three games. “This game was all about heart.” Ryan dominated the early stages of the second period, putting pressure on Diorio, who was selected as the tournament’s MVP. By the middle of the period, the Pats changed the course of Ryan’s momentum, starting when Tecce came bearing down and was stoned by Leith with 9:19 left in the period. Carroll fired off seven shots in a three-minute span, but nothing got by Leith. The Pats outshot Ryan, 13-8, in the period. Carroll started the game quickly when freshman Shane Aldinger scored to give the Pats a 1-0 lead on assists from seniors Ta Ung and Tecce with 13:46 remaining in the first period. Ryan’s John Fletcher tied the game at 1-1, with assists coming from Ted Mlodzinski and Dan Casey.
Archbishop Carroll……1-0-2–3
Archbishop Ryan………1-0-0–1
Goals: AC-Shane Aldinger, Stefano Tecce 2; AR-John Fletcher.
Saves: AC-Ken DiOrio 22; AR-Rich Leith 19.
By Joe Santoliquito
The Philadelphia Inquirer
