March 25, 2004
The Radnor ice hockey team had steamrolled through its first three games in the Flyers Cup Class A tournament by a combined score of 24-3. But early last night in the championship game against Lower Dauphin at the Skatium in Havertown, the Red Raiders received the message that the final would not be as easy as the other games. The Red Raiders swarmed and pressured, and finally out- lasted Lower Dauphin in a 4-1 victory. It wasn’t easy, but Rad- nor became the first team to capture three straight Flyers Cup Class A titles. Radnor, which also is the defending Class A state champion, improved to 22-2 overall. The Red Raiders advance to the state championship game against the Penguins Cup champion on April 10 at the Island Sports Center in Pittsburgh. Lower Dauphin completed its season 20-5. Radnor’s victory required patience. The Red Raiders had a tough time solving Lower Dauphin goaltender Kris Kullman, who made 33 saves. Lower Dauphin managed just 20 shots on the Radnor net. Senior Chris Brennan, who scored two goals and had one assist, led Radnor offensively. Neil Callahan and Colby Cohen each added a goal for Radnor. The Red Raiders dominated possession, controlled the physical areas of the game, and clamped down defensively on anything Lower Dauphin tried to generate. Greg Gallagher, Bart Bitterman, Rob Looloian, Brad Dowlin, and Gil Davis led Radnor defensively. And Red Raiders goaltender Erik Johnson was in control of the shots he faced. Radnor, which led by 2-0 after two periods, didn’t put the game away until the Red Raiders tallied twice more in the final period. Radnor took a 1-0 lead when Brennan fired a high shot over the left shoulder of Kullman with 2 minutes, 29 seconds left in the opening period. Radnor increased its lead to 2-0 in the second period when Callahan scored following a perfect pass from Ed Devine. Brennan scored his second goal early in the third period; Cohen completed the Radnor scoring later in the period. The Falcons had a chance to get on the board early in the first period. But Bryan Chiavetta’s high shot was gloved by Johnson. Lower Dauphin got on the board in the final minutes, when Dave Garrabrant spoiled Johnson’s shutout bid.
Lower Dauphin………….0-0-1–1
Radnor…………………..1-1-2–4
Goals: LD-Dave Garrabrant. R-Chris Brennan 2, Neil
Callahan, Colby Cohen.
Saves: LD-Kris Kullman 33. R-Erik Johnson 19.
By Joe Santoliquito
The Philadelphia Inquirer
