HERSHEY (8-0) at TRINITY (8-0) 7:00pm
- They don't get much bigger than this in the regular season. Two undefeated teams going head to head in a possible Mid Penn Championship preview. Last season it was Hershey and Carlisle, where the Herd was available to avenge the early season loss to the Trojans. Coach Heisey and the Shamrocks hope to supplant Carlisle as the Commonwealth champs and a win at COBO tomorrow night would go a long way towards showing the area who is the team to beat.
Hershey will most likely be the Rocks biggest challenge all season as they have ben utterly dominant through out the year. The Trojans have yet to score less than 11 points in a game while never allowing more than 5 for a remarkable 129-20 points for and against over 8 games. Led by their attack group of Logan Calhoun, George Briggs, and Jake Wilson they can hurt you from a multitude of spots. Great ball movement, timely cuts, and excellent dodging from the top are staples of Coach Schein's offensive attack. Kyle Kondracki leads the defense and hasn't appeared to have been greatly tested as of yet. Trinity could very well be his biggest challenge in the net this season.
The Shamrocks also have a diversified group that can hurt you a number of ways. Junior standout John Miller is leading the way with 24 goals and 9 assists. After that their is a drop off but a bunch of players have double digit goals such as Mitch Kleist, Connor Bailey, Kyle Scott, and junior CJ Sherlock. Sophomore attackman Jesse Altmeyer is stepping into the spotlight as an excellent feeder from X with 10 assists. Tim Hickey and his senior poles will have their work cut out for them and will need Junior goalie Austin Bailey to continue his strong play.
CARLISLE (8-0) at NORTHERN YORK (3-3) 7:00pm
- Carlisle will try not to look to far ahead to their April 16th game with Trinity and take care of business on the road against Northern. Their offensive numbers are not as overwhelming as Hershey's but their defense has only allowed more than 3 goals once this season (Saturday they allowed 6 to Chambersburg). At 8-0 they look to remain one of the Big Three and will look to Max Breschi, George Faller, and Jon Mundell to lead the offense.
Coach Miller and the Polar Bears had a very interesting week. After a 9-7 loss to Trinity they headed on the road to Hershey and were overwhelmed 17-2 resulting in their third loss in the past four games. Northern has a jam packed schedule the rest of the way due to early season postponements and will be hoping for another all out effort like they had Wednesday against Carlisle. Look for Zack Martich to lead the offense with an excellent one on one game, typically from X or the outside wing. Sam Haak is also a threat with excellent dodges from the top. Zach Shumberger needs to be on top of his game between the pipes for Northern to have a chance.
LOWER DAUPHIN (2-6) at MECHANICSBURG (2-5) 4:30pm
- After opening the season 0-4 LD has bounced back with a quality win over State College (8-2) and split their last four games. They look to keep the momentum going against a Mechanicsburg team that has lost three straight by a margin of 8-42 and is struggling to keep pace.
The Falcons will look to Mike Mattis, Garrett Schrug, and Albert Gremmell to provide them with steady offense. Their high on the season for goals in a game is 8 which they have done three separate times. They must get more consistent and see that number rise if they hope to get more wins in Mid Penn play. Justin Guevarez has been exceptional in goal with 69 saves on the season and should present a real challenge for the Wildcats.
Coach Brisbane and Mechanicsburg are looking to see improvement on both sides of the ball. Senior's Eddie Martin, Aaron Hesiey, and Don Houseal are capable of scoring and will look to lead the offense. Defensively the loss of goal keeper Joe Becker lingers but there are bright spots. Sophmore long pole Reagan Pritchett has been exceptional with a ton of GB's. Sophmore goalie Liam Darr will need to continue to improve to get the Cats back on track.
STATE COLLEGE (5-4) at BISHOP MCDEVITT (1-6) 7:00pm
- State College saw their four game winnings streak (which included games against CD and CV) come to halt when they were upset on the road by Lower Dauphin 2-8. The Little Lions had been making significant noise in the Mid Penn to that point and are still a team to be feared. McDevitt on the road represents and excellent chance for Brady Franks and Luc Michael to get the offense back on track. Senior Sam Schwab has stepped into the role of third leading scorer nicely and looks to take the two-man show pressure off Franks and Michael.
McDevitt was able to get their first win of the season against Gateway on Saturday. They will be eager for their first Mid Penn win and hope Monday is the day for this to occur. Offense had been the main issue prior to this weekend only scoring 12 goals in a 5 game stretch. Nick Suknaic leads the Crusaders with 5 goals on the season which tells you what you need to know, they need more goals and more people doing it. Eight players have found the back of the net for McDevitt this season so the hope for someone to step up is there.
CD EAST (0-7) at CRESTWOOD (1-4) 6:00pm
- Power rankings become more useful as the season goes on and Crestwood's is not that overwhelming as laxpower.com has the Comets at 72.0. The catch of course is CD East is only at 65.9. The Panthers have struggled mightily this season. The loss of Senior standout long pole Will Gingrich to a groin injury has hurt and placed a ton of pressure on midfielder Chrisitian Hess. Hess has talent but cannot be asked to do it all alone, their offensive production reflects this. Crestwood is 1-4 on the season a presents a reasonable shot at victory for the Panthers.
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