Norwin vs. Penn Trafford - There Goes the Neighborhood

Forget Philly vs Pitt, Ottawa vs Toronto, or even Calgary vs Edmonton. The real hockey rivalry can be found tonight in a little place in Delmont, PA called Center Ice Arena. Last season, I made a special point to go to the Norwin vs. Penn Trafford (PT) hockey game and I wrote about it in my blog. The two high schools can be found neighboring one another and naturally, they are big sports rivals. I still have fond memories of playing football against them, but very little memories of me and the Knights coming out victorious. I certainly was going to make sure to root for my alma mater this season.

The Norwin Knights still continue to use the same boring styled uniforms. The block lettering with the straight vertical stripes. But they do reflect the traditional conservative school experience that Norwin has always brought. Penn Trafford I thought have been in a bind lately trying to continue the great Warrior legacy and stave off the PC crowd. The Penn Trafford Warriors have used the Indian head logo for as long as I've lived here. Who knows for how much longer. I've seen other websites where I thought the school district was going to pull away from their Indian logo and feature a more fierce sword and shield warrior. The game jerseys use the Indian head with a hockey stick adorned with war feathers. But it's still the same Penn Trafford Warriors. The jerseys are uniquely styled in a wavy top half green and a bottom half yellow. The photo I took with my new camera is a better illustration of what these teams look like.

The game for the Norwin Knights slid right by as the puck crossed their goal line twice. The Warriors jumped ahead 2-0 with two soft goals in the very beginning of the game. The first period was one sided with the PT players mezmerizing the Knights with their smooth skating and puck handling abilities. This prompted the Knight's faithful fans to scream, "if you want to watch the game too, come up here!"

In the second period, played without an intermission or a zamboni ice cleaning, the Knights refused to give in and fought their way back to tie the game 3-3. The hitting became more prevalent as a frustrated team sought to bring the Warriors play to a grinding halt. The Knights too had a few players who felt like they needed to take control of the game. Norwin used their talented skates to coast across the blueline and shoot a few chances of their own.

The third period was now or never for the Norwin Knights as they fought for every rebound. They managed to keep pace with the Warriors and tied the game at 4-4. But the game would end in the same fashion as it began. The Knights goalie gave up two more soft goals and gave up an empty net goal to let the PT Warriors win the game 7-4.

It may not be like following the CHL, but I would recommend that my readers stop by to PA Hockey.net and surf around. It's a large gathering of Pennsylvania hockey schools and programs. Watch it grow again with the help Sidney Crosby has given this area in a renewed interest in hockey.