COLLEGE HOCKEY YSU gets first CHA crown

The Penguins defeated Hilbert College 11-3 to win the title.
By GREG GULAS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BOARDMAN -- In August, the Youngstown State club hockey team had just three skaters and two goalie hopefuls at its first practice.
Due to that lack of depth, they've played games this season with as few as six players, sometimes scrambling to field a team.
Sunday, there was no problem putting a full squad together and because of their depth, the Penguins' aggressive play led to a championship.
Shook, Walla lead win
Tom Skook had four goals and three assists and Bobby Walla added a hat trick as the Penguins defeated Hilbert College, 11-3, to capture their first College Hockey Association title.
"If the truth be told, I had my doubts back in August. In fact, I thought that we were in trouble just trying to field a team," Penguins coach Rocky Russo said.
"We had no numbers, no depth and plenty of holes to fill. We were able to find the right guys and when they bought in to my system, that's when things began to take off for us.
"We are a disciplined team; defense-oriented," said Russo. "I cannot tell you how proud I am of their unselfishness. Their discipline tonight was just incredible."
The Penguins allowed the first goal of the game at 4:44 of the opening period when Jason Baldi of the Hawks, with an assist from A.J. Burvid, penetrated the Penguin crease for a 1-0 Hilbert advantage.
Six unanswered goals
The Penguins then scored six unanswered goals, including four on power plays, to forge a five-goal lead midway through the second period.
Skook scored the first of his four goals at 10:20 of the first period on a power play, and Ryan Macri's lone score of the game at the 15:28 mark, the Penguins took the lead for good.
Walla's first score, a power play goal at 17:27, increased YSU's lead to 3-1, then Joe Steinman added the first of his two goals at 18:15 to make it 4-1.
Skook and Steinman were named co-MVPs of the tournament.
"Joe's been our leader all year and he did one excellent job of keeping us together," Skook said. "I've been off the ice for over a year and a half and really only played the last four games. Being able to come back and play after a car accident makes this win for me truly special."
Added Steinman: "We played as a team and that is what makes this win so special. The MVP award means a lot but make no mistake, everyone on the team gets credit for what we accomplished this year. Teamwork wins games and we played as a team today.
"With the support of both [Bruce] Zoldan and [Bob] Mainhardt of the Mahoning Valley Phantoms, and Russo, we could not have asked for anything more this season," said Steinman.