Cumberland Valley scored a pair of late goals to beat Central York 6-4 and advance in the Tier I Bears Cup playoffs Wednesday night at Twin Ponds West.
Elizabethtown scored three goals in the final 1:21 of the first period and rode that to an 8-2 win over Mechanicsburg, eliminating the Wildcats in the first game.
Against Central York in the TPW nightcap, CV's Joey Capuano scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:58 left off a scrum in front, as the Eagles recovered from blowing a 3-0 first period lead. It was one of two markers on the night from Capuano, who has recovered from missing the last three games due to illness. Tristan Enck added two goals for the regular-season champion Eagles.
After a shaky start, Central climbed back into the contest with two goals from Dylan Zvatsky and one each from C.J. Belker and Adam Linker. Linker's tally with 8:30 to go brought the Panthers all the way back to tie it at 4, before Capuano's goal gave the Eagles the lead back for good.
In the openerr, Elizabethtown's attack was relentless against Mechanicsburg -- which played its final contest as a "pure" team barring a major influx of hockey players before the next season. Joel Eisenhower's career in net for the Wildcats ended as well, under a barrage of rubber.
Brady Dolan scored four goals and freshman Blake Hallman each recorded hat tricks for the Bears, who advance to play the Eagles despite having won just six of 18 regular season contests.
Hallman's contribution was particularly important given the injury (separated shoulder) of Dolan wingman Cassidy Galeone, who was hurt in E-Town's last game, a loss to Hershey.
The Bears scored the game's first five, including three in quick succession by Hallman and Dolan (2). That buried the Wildcats, who got their markers from Jon Fuhrman and Sam Eisenhower.
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