La Salle College High School proved themselves yet again on Tuesday with their third consecutive Flyers Cup AAA championship, in a 5-2 victory over Holy Ghost Preparatory School.
The tournament was the 34th Flyers Scholastic Championship. The Flyers Cup is an annual championship for high school hockey teams in the greater Philadelphia area. Fifty-five of the best teams in the area battle in four leagues: AAA, AA, A, and Girls. The winners of each league get a chance to go head-to-head against the winners of the Penguins Cup, from the Western side of Pennsylvania, in the Pennsylvania State Championship game.
The La Salle versus Holy Ghost game jumped out to a quick start and then slowed down later on. An intense first period led to five goals, three for La Salle and two for Holy Ghost Prep. Getting started quickly, the Holy Ghost Firebirds scored in the first 31 seconds. La Salle responded with two goals in six minutes, taking a 2-1 lead. Only one minute later, Ghost tied the game back up with a goal from Michael Major. The La Salle Explorers reacted in the next two minutes with a goal from Andrew Romano after some great stick skills, opening himself up for a shot right over the Firebirds’ goalie’s blocker. Romano led the team with two goals and an assist, finishing the tournament with six goals and eleven points in just three games. After that, the game was all La Salle. They scored two goals, one in both remaining periods, and shutout Holy Ghost for the rest of the game.
With that victory, the Explorers will move on to play the winner of the Penguins Cup in the State Championship game on March 23. The Penguins Cup final will be played between first seed Peters Township and third seed North Allegheny on March 20.
Regardless of the winner of the Penguins Cup, La Salle will be looking to win their second consecutive state championship. The state championship plateau is not uncommon ground for the Explorers, winning three in the last five years. Next Saturday, La Salle will see if they are up to make it four out of six.
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