High School Ice Hockey: Hat Trick by Keyser Paces Township over Cherokee Friday, February 25, 2005 By Mike Costantino SJSports Staff Writer Chris Keyser scored three goals to lead Washington Township over Cherokee in a tense playoff game at Hollydell on Friday night. With the win, Township advances in the double elimination tournament and will meet Moorestown at the Igloo on Monday night. These teams are the only remaining undefeated teams left in the winner bracket, and the victor on Monday night will advance into the championship series. The first period was very intense with teams exchanging physical as well as verbal jabs. Keyser opened the scoring with Cherokee down a man, he started the rush in his own end and with a full head of steam broke down the left side and quickly cut into the slot and he wristed a shot right through the five hole to give Township a 1-0 lead. They carried the lead into the second period, but Cherokee converted their power play opportunity early in the period as Lou Sarcone scored off a defenseman’s’ skate to tie the game at 1-1. Matt Corvino, playing his strongest game to date in the playoffs came up huge for the remainder of the period as he robbed Kyle Hillman on a breakaway and when Pat McMahon jumped on the rebound he stoned him as well. Township seized control of the game in the last three minutes of the period. On the power play, David Henninger made a nice play to keep the puck in at the point and found Keyser at the other point and his blast found the net for a 2-1 advantage. With about ninety seconds left, Kyle Stokes broke in and his drop pass to Fred Brewer, resulted in the third goal as Brewer’s shot found the top corner. Then with the period winding down, Keyser broke in and scored with one second remaining on the clock to give Township a commanding 4-1 lead. Justin Kinniry scored short-handed for Cherokee with one minute remaining in the game, but it was too little to late. Notes: Hollydell is Township’s home rink but there were significantly more Cherokee fans in attendance. With football season over, this team deserves more support. Photos by Art Redd