CHAMBERSBURG (8-7) at HERSHEY (13-2) 4:15PM
- After last nights loss to Trinity, Chambersburg's district playoffs hope are all but gone. They will fall from their 20th ranking and have a very difficult match-up with a Hershey team looking to stay sharp for Saturday's MPC as well as improve there own seeding for districts (currently 6th).
The Trojans had a suffered a couple tough defeats to Wilson and Carlisle but seemed to have regrouped nicely last week. With Chambersburg today and State College tomorrow they will be looking to keep all their parts finely tuned while Carlisle has four days off before the big game. In order for Hershey to win the MPC and have a good post season run Jake Wilson, Logan Calhoun, and George Briggs will need to be on point at attack. This is the most talented attack unit in the Mid Penn and when they are in rhythm they seem to be unstoppable. When teams get them out of rhythm, as we saw against Carlisle and Trinity, they can get sloppy and that is something we are sure Coach Schein is working to fix.
Chambersburg has three main threats in Hopple, Pierson, and Lombardozi. They will all need big nights here if they hope to pull off the upset and keep their district playoff chances alive. This will be the Trojans final regular season game of the year and even if they fall to 8-8 it is still a very impressive season after what many thought would be a down year losing 2013 graduate Taylor Tolbert.
CD EAST (0-15) at PALMYRA (8-9) 4:15PM
- This is the Panthers last shot at avoiding an 0-12 Mid Penn season and unfortunately we don't expect them to get the win on the road at Palmyra. The Cougars have been through a difficult season of their own losing a lot of close games but should be able to put together back to back wins to finish at .500.
Joey Hess is making a serious play for league MVP and we suspect today will be another chance for him to push his stats upward. Hess has shown a tremendous ability to score and feed and is a critical component to his offense. Nick Mazzocca is a capable scorer of his own and clearly benefits from playing with Hess. Look for both of them to be involved early and often in the scoring. Sam Wasson is one of the better keepers in the MP and should finish the year with the most saves in the league.
CD East will continue to rely on Chrystian Hess and Will Gingrich. We've been saying all season that this program's goals are different than that of most other Mid Penn clubs and we truly hope they can start the rebuilding process this off season.
BISHOP MCDEVITT (3-12) at LOWER DAUPHIN (6-9) 4:30PM
- The Falcons were in the midst of a mid season turn around with four straight wins and were eyeing their first winning season since 2009. A three game skid will prevent that from happening but it is still a spring that has seen this club make some major strides into the middle of the Mid Penn pack. A season ending win against Keystone opponent McDevitt would be a nice cap on year everyone in Hummelstown can be proud of. Mike Mattis will again be the Falcons main player to keep an eye on scoring wise and Justin Guevarez is an underrated goalie with the ability to change games.
For the Crusaders it has not been an ideal follow up to a 2013 season that saw them go 7-10 after going 1-14 in 2012. For a younger program just starting to come up regression is expected and Coach Walter lost a lot of fire power in the off season. Senior Nick Sukniac and the Hanes brothers have put forth great efforts and despite the poor W-L record they have been a better team then they were earlier in the program's history. Despite losing five of their last six games their offense seems to have a found a sync against quality opponents. Their final game of the spring will be Wednesday night at Northern York.
NORTHERN YORK (8-7) at CUMBERLAND VALLEY (10-7) 7:00PM
- The Polar Bears may be on the outside (currently ranked 21st) looking in on districts but that does not mean they can't crush some dreams on the way. After beating the Rams at home on Friday to jeopardize their district chances they will head to Cumberland Valley and look to do the same to a 15th ranked Eagles squad. Cumberland Valley needs to win this game to control their destiny as it is their final match of the regular season.
Northern has an excellent shot at finishing .500 or better with CV tonight and McDevitt at home tomorrow night. Although the playoffs are becoming a long shot we expect Coach Miller to have his team giving 100%. Northern has won 6 straight games and is aiming to finish the year on an 8 game winning streak. Zach Martick is leading the Polar Bears with 51 points courtesy of his 35 assists on the year. He can score but is one of the better assist men in the league. Derek Myers, Grant Rutter, and Sam Haak are all 20+ goal scorers and it is apparent they can hurt you from a number of different spots.
The Eagles have won three out of their last four and have had a nice turn around after a disappointing 2013. Coach Bogazyck team is one that has improved a lot since the start of the season and a very difficult opening schedule. They have won seven of their last nine games and a win here would allow them to advance to post season play. Tommy Lehman (41 goals) and Nick Zumbrum (29) have been an absolute force as of late and if their defense and Nic Brown are on their game who knows how far they could go. A possible first round game with West York would be an excellent setup if the chips fall that way.
MECHANICSBURG (2-14) at CEDAR CREST (5-12) 7:00PM
- The Wildcats venture out of conference tonight with a shot at a winnable game against Lancaster-Lebanon opponent Cedar Crest. The Falcons have a 76.2 laxpower.com ranking (Mechanicsburg is 71.4) and have lost six of their last seven games only scoring 43 points in that span.
Offensive and defensive woes have plagued the Cats all season. Coach Brisbane will be doing everything in his power to get his seniors a win in their final game and bookend the season with victories. Having lost 12 straight and only scored 30 goals in that period this is a team that is looking to put the building blocks in place to develop a program structure and change the culture on Broad Street. Senior Aaron Heisey is an underrated player with an excellent outside shot. He has led the Cats all year (17 goals) in scoring and we have little doubt his numbers are not a true reflection of his abilities.
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