Both Mars and Avonworth were stuck in respective locker rooms for more than an extra hour before their game started as they awaited the result of the triple-overtime Class 3A thriller between Seneca Valley and South Fayette.
When the Antelopes finally hit the ice, however, they took out all that pent-up energy on the Planets on Monday and made sure their fans had plenty of time to celebrate.
Jimmy Shields scored just 3:13 into the game and Austin Dzadovsky followed with a four-goal natural hat trick as part of his five-goal night to lead Avonworth (20-3-1) to a 7-1 mercy-rule blowout of Mars (20-4-0) in the PIHL Class 1A Penguins Cup championship game at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
“It was awesome. It just kind of all happened,” Dzadovsky said. “I was expecting to play a good game. I wasn’t expecting to score five goals. The vibe was amazing and the guys on the bench were awesome.”
It is the first Penguins Cup title for Avonworth in its first finals appearance. The Antelopes have only had a state championship-eligible varsity program since the 2022-23 season.
“I inherited a pretty strong program,” Avonworth coach Chris Chiusano said. “Coming into this season, me and my coaching staff knew we had players with a lot of talent and, more importantly, we have a great leadership group.”
Game flow
Avonworth came out of the gate on fire and jumped all over Mars.
After Shields scored at 3:13, Dzadovsky put home a rebound just 15 seconds later to give the Antelopes a two-goal edge.
Dzadovsky wasn’t even close to done.
He scored off a great move in front of the net at 14:16 of the first period, opened the second when he completed the natural hat trick at 33 seconds, then picked up his fourth to put Avonworth ahead 5-0 at 9:26.
Conner Ralston broke his string when he scored at 12:28 to give Avonworth a 6-0 lead, but Dzadovsky got the capper at 14:21 with his fifth of the game that gave the Antelopes a 7-0 lead and started the mercy rule.
Key stats
• Avonworth started the mercy rule with seven goals on 30 shots. Mars had only allowed six goals combined in its first three playoff games.
• Mars only managed 10 shots on Avonworth netminder Danny Mack before the running clock came into play.
• Richard Malsch assisted on four of Dzadovsky’s five goals.
Quotable
“It definitely shocked us at first, but we’ve been in games where we’ve been losing before and found a way to come back. Tonight just wasn’t our night.” — Mars coach Cody Black
What it means
Avonworth will play Garnet Valley in the Pennsylvania Cup final at 12:45 p.m. Saturday at Robert Morris University Island Sports Complex. The Jaguars rolled over West Chester Henderson, 10-2, in the Flyers Cup final Monday night.
First Published: March 18, 2025, 4:18 a.m.
Updated: March 18, 2025, 4:50 a.m.
