Rustin does it again, beats Hershey for sixth straight Flyers Cup crown

PHILADELPHIA >> Not many hockey players are ever lucky enough to play on NHL ice, but those who do often notice the same thing: The goal horn. 

It is a goaltender’s worst nightmare, but it is also what any goalscorer looks forward to, especially in an arena with a capacity of nearly 20,000. 

“I was a little bit nervous watching the game before us and hearing the goal horn go off,” said Rustin goalie Joel Keller. “I thought it might be rattling when I’m out there, but it wasn’t that bad since I only had to hear it once.”

And once was not enough for Hershey, as powerhouse West Chester Rustin won its sixth straight Flyers Cup Class A championship Sunday witha  5-1 win over the Trojans on the grand stage of the Wells Fargo Center.

“Our goal was to continue the streak,” said Keller, who stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced. 

Rustin will face either Montour or South Fayette in the state championship game, Saturday at Robert Morris University, at 11 a.m.

While Keller kept the Trojans out of his net, on the other end of the ice, Matt Owens would provide all of the offense Rustin would need, pouring in a pair of goals. 

“I’ve played at the Wells Fargo Center a few times now, but this time was different because it actually meant something,” Owens said. “They came out a lot harder than I expected, but we really took it to them in the third. It felt great to hear the goal horn for us five times while the other team only heard it once.” 

Despite the final margin, the game was much closer than the massive scoreboard over center ice suggested. 

Tom Finley scored for Rustin just 2:13 into the game, but the score was only 2-1 with 35 seconds left in the second period, when Nick Ferraro caught a beautiful pass from Owens, capitalizing with a smooth backhand that beat Hershey goalie Chris Larkin. The two-goal deficit going into the third period seemed to dent Hershey’s hopes at a comeback. 

“Even when it was 3-1 we thought we had a shot, we just couldn’t bury one early in the third period,” said Hershey head coach Jarrod Hill. “To go this far says a lot about the boys, how they played, and the effort they put in this year. It’s not the outcome we wanted but, in the end everybody is going to look back and say that was a heck of a run.”

The final period belonged to Rustin, which took advantage of Hershey’s tired legs late in the game. 

Just over 10 minutes into the period, Hershey’s hopes all but vanished with Owens’ second goal of the day. That goal was shortly followed by Ian Strasinski beating everyone down the ice and also beating the goalie with a fake and quick backhand to deal the fatal blow to Hershey with 4:20 remaining in the game. 

“When I started with Rustin, I went to west Texas to watch how they run their high school football programs, it starts with the youngest kids in town,” said Rustin head coach Nick Russo. “We started an elementary school team, so that team on the ice [Sunday] was actually my elementary school team from 12 years ago. They learn a little bit about the system every year so by the time they get to high school they have it pretty much figured out.”

Hershey 1, West Chester Rustin 5

Hershey 0 1 0 – 1

Rustin 2 1 2 – 5

Rustin goals: Owens 2, Finley, Ferraro, Strasinski 

Hershey goals: Freer

Goalie saves: Keller (R) 25, Larkin (H) 26