Vanessa Abrahamson Blog: Bethel Park wins national ice hockey championship

The Bethel Park hockey team finally figured out how to get a police escort back to high school: Win a national championship like the Hawks on March 30 in Omaha.

“Pretty cool,” BP head coach Jim (Mort) McVay said of the excitement early Monday morning. “We’ve won state championships before but never had a police escort. That’s great.”

It’s amazing what the Hawks accomplished during their six-day visit to the Midwest. Not only did Bethel Park post a 5-1 record, the Hawks defeated Illinois’ Providence Catholic 2-1 to win the 2014 USA Hockey National Championship. They became the first Pennsylvania high school hockey team to win the title won.

“To think that no team from this area has won a national title is an amazing achievement,” said McVay, who played for an Upper St. Clair state championship club as a student.

“I’m glad I didn’t realize how big it was until after the tournament. I was nervous anyway, but I would have been more nervous. But really it’s all about the kids and what they did. They proved that hard work really pays off. It’s been a long, crazy journey.”

The Hawks’ pursuit of a national title began shortly after their disappointing 4-2 loss to rivals Peters Township for the Penguins Cup. While the Indians were winning the Pennsylvania Cup, Bethel Park went back to practice. When the Hawks reached Nebraska, they were prepared for the competition.

“Our focus wasn’t on looking to the future and not worrying about the past,” McVay said. “Everything was in the present.”

Bethel Park opened the action with wins over Cherry Creek, Colorado, 9-2 and Medina, Ohio, 4-2 to capture the Pool A division.

The Hawks suffered their only loss of the tournament when they conceded a 5-4 decision to California’s J Serra. The game had given McVay a chance to show off his deep bench while resting some of his best players. Each team member took part in the competition.

After Bethel Park defeated Sioux Falls, SD 3-0, the Hawks defeated Des Moines 3-1 in the semifinals. The Illinois Club pooled talent from 11 different high schools. According to McVay, the team was essentially an all-star team that nine times out of 10 beats a team made up of only one public school like Bethel Park.

Motivation and work drove the Hawks. Dubbed “a bunch of cupcakes” by their opponents, BP triumphed in part on a defense led by Derek Lesnak and Nick Konyk. The seniors had anchored a unit that had conceded the fewest goals during a scholastic Class AAA competition that winter.

“Derek and Nick have been rocks for us on defense throughout the tournament,” McVay said. “All of our boys worked as hard as they could and played their best game by far in the semi-finals.

“We were motivated by their comments. There was a lot of inspiration there. It felt great to beat this team. Obviously,” added McVay, “my guys gave their all when they had the opportunity to play in a final.”

The championship was almost as good as the semifinals. According to McVay, Bethel Park did well with Providence Catholic, a club that beat Peters Township 3-1 earlier in the tournament.

“We knew it was going to be tough,” McVay said, but not because the Hawks lost the Penguins Cup 4-2 to the Indians on March 17 at the Consol Energy Center.

After a scoreless first frame, things turned difficult as Providence took a 1-0 lead in the second verse. However, the Hawks responded twice.

Christian Siak scored the equaliser. Jake Salak and Tyler Kruszewski assisted.

McVay called Siak’s record “an incredible goal. One of the prettiest I’ve ever seen,” he added. “He took a beautiful shot.”

With 1:35 left in the second verse, Salak scored the game-winning goal. Siak helped.

Before the Finals, Siak and Jacob Worcester led the Hawks with five goals each. Siak had registered seven assists while Worcester recorded one court. Kruszewski followed with four goals and five assists for nine points, while Spencer Bawcom finished with one goal and three assists.

William ‘Tre’ Lowe gave the Hawks a strong presence in the nets. He made 58 saves in three games for a .951 percentage before the Finals. He conceded just five goals against the country’s top talent during the tournament.

“Tre played incredibly well in goal. Very good,” emphasized McVay. “I don’t think I’ve seen him play better.”

And McVay couldn’t be happier with his squad.

“It’s very exciting,” he said. “If you think about it, it’s pretty amazing. I’m so proud of these guys. They’ve worked so hard and grown so much and that’s really what it’s about. To make better young men out of these players,” he concluded.

Team members who also contributed to the national championship included: Ryan Phelps, Andy Bello, Will Douds, Evan Oakley, Jeff Wagner, Connor Namuth, Ethan Wdowiak, Austin Ball, Jason Bauer, Louie McLinden, Gary Cerrone, Jack Wagner, Antonio Esposito, Jake Mueser, Logan Chorney, Brian Weisner, Nate Partsch and Zach Davis.

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