The Season Is Over

With a 9-1 score against a previously undefeated western team to become state champs La Salle College High School is being whispered by some as the best high school team ever assembled in Pennsylvania. During the Flyers Cup at the Spectrum, La Salle 4 Holy Ghost Prep 1, there was a lot of chatter in the stands. One Flyers Cup official was in fact overheard saying this was the best high school team he had ever seen from Philadelphia. Rumors moved around in the stands like stray pucks shot high; Holy Ghost Prep was going to play a trap; La Salle's players were being heavily recruited by other prep schools; there were college scouts in the stands. Holy Ghost Prep did not play a trap, in fact they played an up-tempo contest with no one player really standing out. They played as a fast paced team. If they did have a special game plan it was to keep a man high in the neutral zone for long passes out of the defensive zone. This did in fact create a number of odd man rushes. But La Salle goalie Dan Pyne was a brick wall and Holy Ghost Prep was caught in a back and forth rushing style game more suited for La Salle than Ghost. An observer near the Holy Ghost Prep goal noted after the first period that Holy Ghost Prep goalie Steven Berardi would have to stand on his head all game to keep it close. In the end La Salle continued to play "their game" and slowly chipped away at Berardi's armour. The Explorers continued that mindset in becoming state champs. La Salle has been under pressure to perform, as a fan favorite, and while they have been continuing a winning tradition year after year championships have eluded them. Often it is said that the only thing that matters is winning a championship. However, even if their roster does change, building a program that will continue this winning tradition is just as, if not more, important. This team is a link in a chain that is now crossing decades. It is what enables La Salle to draw the players it draws and is the product of extreme forethought and management by the school and coaching staff culminating into the fantastic athletic feats of its players. Congratulations, and keep it going.