Bears win division, first playoff game

(Photo provided by Chuck Fox).
It's been quite a week and a half for the Elizabethtown Ice Hockey team.

It began last Wednesday as the Bears took the ice against Garden Spot in the championship game of the Tier II Lancaster-Lebanon-Berks section. E-town found itself in a 2-1 hole going into the third period before Zach Lokey dug them out. Lokey, the team's leading scorer and one of the top scorers in all of the CPIHL scored three times in the the third, and the Bears pulled away for a 6-2 decision. Brian Milici and Dillon Filepas also scored for E-town. Steven Dombrosky made 20 saves and held Garden Spot scoreless in the third as the Bears made their comeback.


On Friday night, E-town began the Tier II CPIHL playoffs. The Bears entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed (West York is No. 1) and dispensed of the Crusaders 5-0 in the first round. Lokey scored twice, and Filepas, Milici and Josh Carter also added goals. E-town's defense was also stout, and Dombrosky was sensational in goal, saving all 23 shots he faced.

The Bears have now advanced to the Tier II quarterfinals, and will play Annville-Cleona tonight at 8:45 p.m. at the Lancaster Ice Rink. E-town is 2-0 against A-C so far this season, beating them 11-1 and 9-2. There is that old saying that it's tough to beat a team three times in one season, but I don't see the Bears having much trouble tonight.

If they win, a matchup with Cedar Cliff could be looming in the semifinals. The Colts, the third seed, plays Kennard-Dale tonight. They won the Mid Penn division with a 15-3 record and beat Kennard-Dale 3-1 earlier in the year. The Colts also handed E-town one of its two losses on the season (a 4-1 win over the Bears back on Jan. 18), so I'm sure the Bears are itching to get a little revenge on them. But they can't look past Annville-Cleona tonight, or they won't get that chance.