MID PENN PREVIEW - 5/7/14

Final night of regular season play in the Mid Penn!
*Games played through tonight qualify for District III Playoff Rankings

TRINITY (14-2) at CENTRAL DAUPHIN (9-6) 7:00PM
- As the years move on rivalries start to develop in unexpected places. CD verse Trinity is definitely becoming one of those. The Rams bested the Shamrocks twice in 2013 including knocking them out in a great first round game of last years district playoffs 8-6. Trinity will look to return the favor as CD is currently ranked 18th in district seeding and most likely needs a win in their final game at home tonight to get in.
     Trinity has been on an absolute tear as of late aiming to close the season out with seven straight wins and put themselves in an excellent spot to make some serious noise in districts and possibly beyond. They have a number of players who can score and we are going to simply list them by name Bailey(25 goals), Sherlock(27), Altmeyer (22), Kleist (22), and Scott (34). That kind of production from five players is unmatched in the Mid Penn. Senior poles Hickey, Behnke, and Whiteman have led a very underrated defense that will make it difficult for CD to keep pace.
    The Rams had won seven of eight games until a one goal lose (7-6) at Northern York on Friday. A tremendous mid season turn around hangs on the brink as they could miss out on the post season if they suffer a loss tonight. Coach Driscoll must find a way for his offense to produce enough scoring to give his defense and goal keeper Scott Kelly a chance to win. Look for Colton Nye, Eli Hudson, and Nate Beard to continue to be the focal point of their offensive game plan.

STATE COLLEGE (8-8) at HERSHEY (15-2) 4:00PM
- Hershey is in an advantageous situation for Saturdays game in that they will have played two quality opponents in Chambersburg (last night) and State College tonight to stay sharp for the MPC. Carlisle on the other hand played Mechancisburg on Monday and will not have had a game in 4 days in the lead up for the title game. Most teams would rather stay active and in rhythm and that is just what Hershey aims to do in their final regular season game.
    Hershey will look to senior attackman Logan Calhoun and Joe Olives to lead the scoring from the attack with Karl VanBlargen on the midfield. Finishing the season with five straight wins will give them a lot of momentum headed into the post season.
     For State College a 7-4 season with a shot at the Commonwealth title has fallen apart as they have lost four of their last five games. Brady Franks (29 goals) and Luc Michaels (26 goals) have been their 1-2 combo all year. Hershey's defense is to complete for a 2 man game to work so they will need to get more players involved if they hope to finish the season with a win.

BISHOP MCDEVITT (3-13) at NORTHERN YORK (9-7) 7:00PM
- Eight straight wins is a remarkable feet for any squad and Northern head coach Jeff Miller should be getting serious consideration for MP coach of the year after turning his squad around from a 2-7 start. The Polar Bears have played extremely well and have quality wins over CD and CV in their last two games. We expect Zach Martich to be heavily involved with the offense as a feeder while several scoring options in Haak, Myers, and Rutter look to find the back of the net.
    For the Crusaders they will need senior Nick Suknaic and Griffin and Jackson Hanes to to take over the scoring to have a shot at slowing down a good team at home.