Working overtime ... sort of
WARRENDALE — Mars just couldn't seem to shake Montour.
In a PIHL Class 2A quarterfinal playoff Monday night, the Planets saw leads of 1-0, 3-1, 4-2 and 5-4 evaporate under the heat of a heavy barrage of shots from the Spartans.
But Montour never got the chance to answer Mars' final score.
Junior forward Mack Riemer scored just 22 seconds into overtime, earning for the Planets a 6-5 victory at Baierl Ice Complex.
Wes Scurci fed the puck to Riemer, who put a shot past Montour goalie Anthony Reinholt in the bottom left corner of the net. Riemer skated out from Montour's net and slid up the ice on his stomach before being mobbed by his teammates.
“Wes and I work on that kind of stuff all the time in practice,” said Riemer of the winning sequence. He also scored a goal that put Mars up 4-2 in the second period.
“It took just one swipe, tucked it right in there.”
Mars (11-8) will face Baldwin (18-1) in the semifinals March 11 at Robert Morris University's Island Sports Center.
The Planets' latest output is an extension of their run to end the regular season. In a four-game winning streak entering the playoffs, Mars scored 22 goals.
“We finally found line pairings that are working for us,” said Mars coach Steve Meyers. “We got two goals out of our third line tonight. Anytime you can get that, it really helps your chances.”
Mars won despite being outshot 52-25. Despite allowing five goals, Planet goalie Danny Mitchell made 47 saves, several in dramatic style.
Most notably, he denied Montour forward Michael Felsing on a penalty shot with 7:24 left in regulation. That save came seven minutes after Dusty Geregach tied the game at 5.
Mitchell made 20 saves in the second period alone, though Tommy Gollob, Geregach and Anthony Migliozzi each found the net in the period, after which the score was knotted at 4-4.
In the second period, Mitchell made a save on a Montour breakaway.“His saves calmed us down,” said Meyers. “He'd glove the puck and get a stoppage in play for us. When he faces more than 30 shots, he's dialed in.”“He faced double the shots we had tonight,” said Riemer. “He's one of the best goalies in the league and he showed it tonight.”Mars' final lead in regulation came at 5-4 when Sean Newman found the net on a wrist-shot for the second time in the game just 1:18 into the third period.Newman opened the scoring six minutes into the game. He controlled a pass left for him by Shaun Wasylson, who had won a faceoff to the right of Montour's net, and wristed a shot that sailed over Reinholt's shoulder.The Spartans (14-6) got the equalizer just 52 seconds later from Preston Muha and the series of blown leads had begun for the Planets.Nick Crowley scored the next two goals for the Planets and Riemer's first tally came with 5:34 left in the second period.Meyers gave credit to the Spartans for their unrelenting attack.“Montour is a really good team and they pushed us to the limit,” he said. “I'm proud of the way our guys responded.”Reinholt stopped 19 shots for Montour, which won the PIHL Class 1A title last year.Mars was just 2-6 after eight games this season, but has now won nine of its last 11.“The first half of the season, we had two two-week breaks and a month break around Christmas,” said Meyers. “It was tough to get into a rhythm. We're now playing with a lot of confidence.”
