Armstrong Central Cougars vs Council Rock Indians Apr 6, 1991

Pennsylvania State High School Ice Hockey State Finals
Armstrong Central Cougars vs Council Rock Indians Apr 6, 1991
Played at Viking Ice Arena, Lower Merian, PA

Armstrong Central Cougars 4 vs Council Rock Indians 5 – FINAL

April 7, 1991 – The Philadelphia Inquirer

Council Rock’s Roman Bussetti recorded a hat trick, lifting his team to a 5-4 triumph over the Pittsburgh region’s Armstrong Central yester- day in the final of the Tier I state scholastic hockey championship. Bussetti, the game’s most valuable player, scored the first three goals for Council Rock as the Indians fought back from a 2-0 deficit early in the second period. Armstrong Central went ahead, 4-3, in the final period, but the Indians rallied for two more goals and eked out the victory in a hard-hitting game at the Viking Arena in King of Prussia. The Indians got plenty of help from goaltender Tom Kratchwell, who came up with 35 saves. Kratchwell was most instrumental in the second period, when he kept the Cougars from breaking the game wide. open by turning back 20 of 22 shots. “They totally dominated us the first two periods, but Tom kept coming up with some big saves for us,” Council Rock coach Paul Gilligan said. “Because of him we went into the third period down only one goal, and we still knew we could come back and take the game.” In a penalty-filled first period, Armstrong Central took a 1-0 lead when winger Jon Yackmack turned defenseman Ron Reilly around and skated in alone to beat Kratchwell with 8 minutes, 44 seconds remaining. The Cougars took a 2-0 lead on a goal by Aaron Foust from the top of the slot midway through the second period, but a power-play goal by Bussetti three minutes later made it 2-1. Armstrong Central again stretched its lead to two goals when Nathan Bielski fired a centering pass that found its way past a screened Kratchwell with 4:29 left in the period. But 46 seconds later, Bussetti stole the puck on a clearing attempt and went in alone to beat goalie Chris Lane and narrow the deficit to 3-2. Council Rock put immediate pressure on the Cougars in the final period, and Bussetti got his hat trick three minutes in, on a give-and-go with Chad Markowitz, to knot the score at 3-3. Armstrong Central almost deflated the Indians’ hopes of a comeback on a fluky goal with 10:49 left, when a pass from Jason Jack behind the Council Rock net caught Kratchwell’s skate and went in to give the Cougars a 4-3 edge. But Council Rock kept the pressure on, and with 4:48 remaining, winger Matt Hunter intercepted a clearing attempt and beat Lane on a break- away to tie the game. Just 24 seconds later, Markowitz got the winning goal when he weaved his way through the Cougars’ defense, shot into Lane’s pads and stuffed in his own rebound. Lane finished with 18 saves. The state hockey title was the first for Council Rock (23-1), which won the Tier I level of the Flyers Cup on Tuesday. Armstrong Central (22-3-2) was the Tier I winner of the Penguins Cup.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Armstrong sinks in third. Armstrong Central (22-3-2) was less than five minutes removed from the Class AAA state championship, but the Cougars blew a late one-goal lead and lost, 5-4, to Council Rock of Philadelphia. “It’s very disappointing, junior winger Jon Yackmack said. “We thought we’d be able to take a bigger lead, but their goalie came up big and we made a couple mistakes in our zone that cost us the game.” Armstrong is unaccustomed to protecting narrow leads late in the game. The Cougars beat Westmont- Hilltop, 7-1, in the state quarterfinals and Meadville, 7-4, in the semifinals. “We’re used to blowing teams away,” Yackmack said. “We just couldn’t get it done this time.” A goal by Yackmack and two by linemate Aaron Foust helped Armstrong to a 3-2 lead after two periods. But Council Rock’s Roman Bussetti notched his third goal at 2:34 of the third period to tie the game at 3-3. Armstrong’s Jason Jack made it 4-3 two minutes later. Then, with only 4:48 left, Council Rock’s Matt Hunter converted a breakaway. Just 24 seconds later, Chad Markowitz put his own rebound in the net to give Council Rock (33-3) its first state crown. Armstrong, the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League champion, was the first team from that league to reach the Class AAA final since 1981. No WPIHL team has won it since Churchill in 1979.

*RIP Joe Appell / Council Rock Indians

SCORING SUMMARY

Armstrong Central…….1 2 1–4
Council Rock…………….0 2 3–5

FIRST PERIOD: (AC) Jon Yackmack 8:44
SECOND PERIOD: (AC) Aaron Foust 7:34, (CR) Roman Bussetti 5:00, (AC) Nathan Bielski 4:29, (CR) Roman Bussetti 3:33
THIRD PERIOD: (CR) Roman Bussetti 12:26, (AC) Jason Jack 10:49, (CR) Matt Hunter 4:48, (CR) Chad Markowitz 4:24
SHOTS: (AC) 29, (CR) 34
GOALIES: (AC) Chris Lane, (CR) Tom Kratchwell