State College wins Laurel Mountain Hockey League championship game against Hollidaysburg

The Hollidaysburg Area High School hockey team entered Tuesday night’s Laurel Mountain Hockey League championship game against State College riding a 14-game winning streak and encouraged by the well-wishes of the program’s most prestigious alumnus, National Hockey League veteran Sam Lafferty.

Hollidaysburg got off to a quick start in the game as well, as junior defenseman Jared Smith opened the scoring on a shot from the right point just 51 seconds left into the game.

State College rebounded gamely, however, riding a 41-save performance from junior goaltender Carter Fozard and two goals apiece from the brother tandem of senior forward Thomas Hay and sophomore forward J.P. Hay to register a 5-2 league championship victory over the Golden Tigers in the First Summit Bank Arena at the Cambria County War Memorial.

Making its first appearance in the league championship game in eight seasons, Hollidaysburg finished its spectacular season with a 16-3 record.

The Hollidaysburg coaching staff and team received an encouraging video Monday evening from Lafferty, who started his NHL career with the Pittsburgh Penguins and now plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs, with a stint with the Chicago Blackhawks in between.

“We were excited,” Hollidaysburg coach Cory Reed. “Sam Lafferty sent the video to our organization Monday, encouraging the team. We got a lot of community support this season, and getting that video from a local kid who has made it into the NHL was a good way for us to lead into this game.”

Fozard’s play in net put a damper on Hollidaysburg’s enthusiasm, however.

“Their goalie played solid,” said Reed, whose Golden Tigers entered the league tournament as the top seed. “He settled in during the second half of the first period. He stayed hot, and we had trouble generating any scoring against him.”

Third-seeded State College (15-5-1), which captured the program’s third league championship, overcame a 1-0 deficit after one period with two second-period goals.

With State College on the power play, Thomas Hay scored from the slot off an assist from Alex McGuire at the 7:51 mark to tie the game, 1-1.

Less than four minutes later, at 11:49 of the second period, J.P. Hay rapped in a short rebound from the left of Hollidaysburg junior Tyler Duey to give State College a 2-1 lead at the second intermission.

“The momentum shifted after that second goal, and we couldn’t find our way back,” Reed said. “Tyler (Duey) played a great game again tonight, but we left him to hang out to dry two or three times when they scored back-door goals.”

In a matchup of the league’s top goaltenders – Fozard allowed an average of less than two goals a game this season while Duey allowed an average of slightly over two per game – State College managed to prevail.

“Carter Fozard was awesome tonight,” State College coach David Lee said. “He saved the day for us when we needed him.

“But I can’t say enough good things about that Hollidaysburg team,” Lee added. “It was a fun, fast game with a lot of skilled players, and we just happened to score a little more than they did. Hollidaysburg is a very good team, and that fact makes winning this game very satisfying for us.”

State College entered the third period operating on a power play, and J.P. Hay capitalized with another goal on a short rebound shot from the side of the net just 48 seconds in to give the Little Lions a 3-1 lead.

Hollidaysburg responded with an unassisted goal by senior Colin Horn less than a minute later at 1:44 to draw to within 3-2, but State College scored two goals late in the third period to preserve the win.

Luke Janac scored on a wrist shot from the short side of the net with 1:22 remaining, giving State College a 4-2 lead and essentially padlocking the outcome.

The Tigers were forced to pull Duey from the goal as time wound down, and Thomas Hay hit the empty net with an unassisted shot six seconds later to set the final score.

“I think our defense was the key tonight,” Thomas Hay said. “We back-checked well, and we were able to create opportunities for ourselves, especially on the power play.”

Hollidaysburg will graduate only five senior players this spring and will return an excellent nucleus next winter.

“This team has been awesome, very talented and very skilled,” Reed said. “We lose five seniors, but we will have a lot of depth returning next year, and we should still be able to make another pretty good run.”

SCORE BY PERIODS

State College 0 2 3 — 5

Hollidaysburg 1 0 1 — 2

First period

Scoring: 1, HOL–Smith (unassisted), :51.

Penalties: Hollidaysburg (too many men on ice minor), 4:55; State College (interference), 9:43; State College (interference), 10:16.

Second period

Scoring: 3, SC–T. Hay (McGuire), ppg, 7:51. 4, SC–J.P. Hay (Janac, T. Hay), 11:49.

Penalties: Hollidaysburg (roughing minor), 1:41; Hollidaysburg (tripping minor), 6:52; Hollidaysburg (hooking minor), 8:48; State College (hooking minor), 9:32; Hollidaysburg (slashing minor and State College (hooking minor), 16:25; Hollidaysburg (holding minor), 16:36.

Third period

Scoring: 4, SC–J.P. Hay (T. Hay), ppg, :48. 5, HOL–Horn (unassisted), 1:44. 6, SC–Janac (unassisted), 15:38. 7, SC–T. Hay (unassisted, empty net), 15:44.

Penalties:

Shots on goal: Hollidaysburg 15-13-15-43; State College 10-19-10-39.

Saves: Duey, H, 34; Fozard, SC, 41 .

Records: State College (15-5-1); Hollidaysburg (16-3).