The La Salle ice hockey team looked to repeat its title as Penn State High School Hockey Class AAA champions on Saturday as Pine-Richland scored the tying goal late in the third game, Alexander Vasila scored in overtime and the Rams defeated the Explorers. They defeated the US 5-4. The state finals were held at Scatium in Haverford Township.
La Salle trailed 3-0 early in the second period, but found the back of the net three times (the last two on the power play) to enter the third period tied.
James Carpenter gave the Explorers a 4-3 lead with a shorthanded score off an assist from Logan Dicus with 15:07 left in regulation. But Joshua Lanyard pulled Pine-Richland with him and put his third goal in the back of the net off an assist from Karen Campbell with 1:37 left.
With 9:53 left in the 17-minute overtime session, Vercilla grabbed the rebound for the title-clinching goal, giving the Rams their first state championship since winning Class AA in 2019.
Alistair St. Hilaire had one goal and one assist and Thomas Doucet had two assists for La Salle, which defeated Peters Township 7-3 in last year's final and was seeking its eighth state title. .
Lanyard had a hat trick, scoring in each period, and Campbell totaled three assists.
Explorers goaltender Jacob Rossi stopped 29 of 34 shots, and Pine-Richland netminder Brett Sudak had 22 saves on 26 shots.
On Saturday, Lanyard had assists from Benjamin Baileys and Campbell at 11:03 of the first period to give the Rams a 1-0 lead. Colten Andrighetti extended the lead at 4:54 on a pass from Zachary Howard.
Pine-Richland made it 3-0 at 14:26 of the second period with Lanyard's second goal on assists from Campbell and Adam Proctor.
But La Salle broke through just 45 seconds later, with Julien Tarsi scoring at 13:41 and Doucet and Saint-Hilaire notching assists.
Saint-Hilaire cut the lead to 3-2 with a power play goal at the 10:48 mark. La Salle had another power play, and at 4:37, Patrick Blais hit a shot off assists from Doucet and Cameron Ross, making it a three-point game.
La Salle continued to score until the third period, taking its first and only lead when Carpenter put the puck in the net at 15:07. However, Pine-Richland came on late with a late appearance and completed his hat trick with 97 seconds left, sending the game into overtime.
La Salle advanced to the state final with a 6-3 victory over Malvern Prep in the Flyers Cup AAA final at Hatfield Ice last Wednesday.
