2005 Season Recap
The 2004-2005 hockey season was a journey that had many peaks and valleys over the six month season.
Coming off two successful seasons, where the team captured the Class AAA State Title in 2003 and lost in the Penguin Cup Final in 2004, expectations are always high in Meadville every season.
Graduation losses claimed nine key members from the 2003-2004 club and three other players opted to play elsewhere for the 2004-2005 campaign. As a result, it was a very young and inexperienced team and it showed throughout much of the season.
Offensively, the team struggled through much of the season. For the first time in Jamie Plunkett's tenure as Head Coach, a freshman, Morgan Nickerson, led the team in scoring. The team only scored 147 goals all season - and 50 of those came in the last five weeks of the season.
Defensively, the team improved throughout the year and only allowed 124 goals for the season - good for a 2.43 goals against average.
The month of January was a case of good news and bad news. The bad news was that the team went 3-8-1 during the month - the worst month in Plunkett's nineteen years as coach. The team only scored 24 goals and failed to win a game in their own tournament for the first time since 1997. Along the way, there were a couple of embarrassing losses that tested the character of the players. The good news is that we survived the month and found out a little about ourselves.
The month of February was a different story as we went 8-2-0. Our losses were to Bethel Park and to North Allegheny. Against North Allegheny, the score was tied 1-1 going in to the third and despite a 3-1 loss, the players felt better about their effort as they competed for three periods and made their opponent earn their victory. Offensively, the team scored 43 goals during the month and allowed only 16 goals.
The strong finish allowed us to catch Fox Chapel for the eighth and final home ice slot for the playoffs. Fox Chapel had defeated us in December 1-0. However, three months later it was a different story as Meadville jumped out to a 4-0 lead and defeated the Foxes 7-4 in the opening round of the playoffs.
Next up was North Allegheny and a third contest with the Tigers. NA led 1-0 going in to the third, as Brian Danczak was outstanding for the Bulldogs. Meadville could only muster seven shots on goal and lost 2-
Following the game, the mood was positive. The team’s two seniors, Chris Leone, and Brian Learn were outstanding all season long leading a team that had many ups and downs. With so many players returning, the loss gave the players incentive to start the off-season workouts and begin preparations for the 2005-2006 season.
