Kirkham, Duey help Tigers win first title in 21 years
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By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
JOHNSTOWN -- Hollidaysburg last won a Laurel Mountain Hockey League championship back in 2003 -- the first year that the league's playoffs began.
This year's senior-laden, unbeaten Golden Tigers were a team of destiny, and they ended that 21-year drought on Tuesday night.
Senior winger Kaden Kirkham scored the only goal of the game, in the first period, and the Golden Tigers made it stand up with a tight-checking defensive effort and a 16-save shutout from senior goaltender Tyler Duey, as Hollidaysburg captured a 1-0 victory over State College in the league championship game at The First Summit Bank Arena at the Cambria County War Memorial.
"This feels amazing,'' said Kirkham, a four-year veteran player for the Golden Tigers, who finished the season with a perfect 20-0 record. "We tried for four years, and we finally got (the championship) in my senior year.''
Hollidaysburg entered the tournament as the top-seeded team, and lived up to expectations, shutting out Richland, 3-0, in last Thursday's semifinal game at Penn State's Pegula Ice Center, before blanking third-seeded State College Tuesday to capture the league's Ann Harris Smith Cup championship trophy.
"We set goals the whole way through the season, and we knocked off each of those goals one-by-one coming down the list,'' fourth-year Hollidaysburg coach Cory Reed said. "We took things game-by-game, and we were a team of destiny. We're real happy about this one.''
Kirkham accounted for the game's only goal at the 11:45 mark of the first period, taking a feed from senior teammate Ben Pfeilstucker, finding space down the slot, and beating State College goaltender Carter Fozard with a high wrist shot.
It was the only one of Hollidaysburg's 39 shots that got past Fozard, who played an outstanding game.
"I took a pass from Ben, saw an open lane, shot it up high, and it went in,'' Kirkham said.
Duey and Fozard were the league's number one and number two goaltenders this year. Duey, who has allowed less than one goal per game this season, registered his ninth shutout of the year.
The Golden Tigers avenged last year's 5-2 loss in the championship game to State College.
"This feels good - it's a weight off my shoulders, after losing to them last season,'' Duey said. "Our defense executed perfectly tonight, pushing them to the outside and away from a lot of good scoring chances.''
State College coach David Lee, whose team finished 13-8, gave appropriate credit to Hollidaysburg.
"It was a tight game, and we had trouble scoring goals,'' Lee said. "Hollidaysburg has been an extremely good team all season, and they played well tonight. Congrats to them - they're very deserving champions.''
Hollidaysburg senior center Carson Young, who scored a team-leading 20 goals this season, expected a tight game Tuesday.
"We knew that they would come out hard, and they definitely gave us a good game,'' Young said of the State College team. "We were sloppy at times tonight, but we were able to come out and get this win, and I thought that we deserved it.
"We were 20-0 this season - we worked real hard for this,'' Young added.
Hollidaysburg killed off two penalties in the third period, when Duey came up big by making three consecutive saves out of a State College scramble early in the period.
State College pulled Fozard from the goal with under 30 seconds left, but Hollidaysburg did a solid job neutralizing the extra attacker to close out the win.
Hollidaysburg senior defenseman Ty Burket, whose father, John, once coached the Golden Tigers, grew up around the program, watching former Hollidaysburg players like current National Hockey League veteran Sam Lafferty hone his craft.
Things have now come full circle, said Ty Burket, who hopes that this year's team leaves a legacy that the younger, upcoming players can try to emulate.
"Back when I was a young kid and my dad was coaching this program, it was very inspiring to watch the older guys play,'' Burket said. "Now we hope that this year's team has inspired the younger kids from the middle school level on down to get to the next level and succeed.''
SCORE BY PERIODS
State College 0 0 0--0
Hollidaysburg 1 0 0--1
First period
Scoring: 1, H--Kirkham (Pfeilstucker, Weise), 11:45.
Penalties: H (roughing), 1:31; SC (tripping), 6:33; SC (holding), 9:32.
Second period
No scoring, no penalties.
Third period
No scoring.
Penalties: H (roughing), 8:29; H (too many men on ice), 14:24.
Shots on goal: Hollidaysburg 16-9-14-39; State College 3-6-7-16.
Saves: Fozard, SC, 38; T. Duey, H, 16.
Records: State College (13-8); Hollidaysburg (20-0).
Officials: D. Domonkos, M. Domonkos, Polonkey, Stahl.