2003 Malvern slips by La Salle

Class AAA. Members of the Malvern Prep ice hockey team sat in their locker room looking at each other last night before their Flyers Cup AAA championship game against La Salle at the First Union Spectrum. They knew what was at stake before they took the ice, and they didn’t want to say anything that would jinx their chances. The teams played a taut game before Malvern Prep’s Chris Campanale scored in the third period to give the Friars a 2-1 victory. When the teams met in the regular season, Malvern Prep posted a 1-0 win. The victory made Malvern Prep the first team to win three straight AAA titles. It also lifted the Friars into the state championship game, where they will face Meadville, the Penguins Cup champion. That game is scheduled for Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at Ice Line in West Chester. “It’s nice to make history and we all knew what was at stake,” said Malvern Prep senior Mike Curran, who scored the game’s first goal. “We didn’t say anything to each other in the locker room before we came out, but we knew.

I suppose you can say we were superstitious.” Campanale, a junior, was selected tournament MVP. His determination with 10 minutes, 4 seconds left in the third period led to the winning goal. As the puck sat against the arm of La Salle goaltender Ken Wochele, Campanale kept pointing at the puck until it finally snuck by Wochele’s pads. “We knew the puck was loose and it was just sitting and watched Westmont against Serra Catholic,” Radnor coach Ed Ritti said. “They create most of their offense from turnovers from the other team, and they have a very good goalie. They really play well as a team. I like our speed and puck control against them.” Malvern Prep (28-6-1) will face Meadville (22-3-3), the winner of five straight games. The Bulldogs have a strong history in state championship games. They have won six state titles, including five in a row from 1992 to 1996. The last time they reached the state finals, however, they suffered an overtime loss to there,” Campanale said. “Their goalie was flopping around trying to find it, and I kept poking at it until it went in.” The teams entered the third period tied, 1-1. Curran began the scoring with a first-period goal. He dove and poked the puck past Wochele on a rebound. Andreas Wochtl picked up the assist. Carl Olejniczak tied the game with 3:54 left in the second period, with the assist coming from Matt Loftus. Olejniczak shot the puck through a scrum of players in

front of the Malvern Prep net. It somehow found its way by Friars goaltender Mark Cetola. The teams played evenly through the first two periods. The Friars had two second-period power plays and came away empty. La Salle put just token pressure on Malvern Prep during its one power play in the first period. Wochele played well in defeat. The 5-11, 175-pound sophomore stoned Malvern Prep’s Justin Martin late in the second period on a breakaway and stopped a point-blank shot by the Friars Ed Shinn in the opening seconds of the third. Cetola, a 5-8, 150-pound junior, had his moments as well. With Malvern Prep leading, 2-1, La Salle threatened, but Cetola saved three rapid-fire shots in succession midway through the third period, preserving Malvern Prep’s edge.

La Salle…….0-1-0–1
Malvern Prep….1-0-1–2
Goals: LS-Carl Olejniczak. MP-Mike Curran, Chris Campanale.
Saves: LS-Ken Wochele, 24. MP-Mark Cetola, 18.