W-b Area Finishes Probe Into Teacher/ Allegations Have Been Made Versus
Teacher. School District Will Announce Results After Holidays

Additional Drug Raid Nets Cash, Silver Coins/ As Part Of Operation Cold Start,
Police Serve A Warrant At A Second West Hazleton Home.

By KELLY TOMLINSON ktomlinson@leader.net
 Friday, December 23, 2005 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1B 





WILKES-BARRE TWP. - It's beginning to look a lot like last year - and the
year before. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For the third consecutive year, Pittston Area and Crestwood White will meet
in the championship game of the Governor Robert P. Casey High School Hockey
Classic. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Patriots are hoping that's where all similarities between this year's
tournament and the last two end. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pittston Area's Phil Semenza scored two goals and set up two others to lead
the Patriots to a 5-3 victory against Abington in the semifinals Thursday
night at Wachovia Arena. Colin Hart added three assists for Pittston, which is
hoping to capture the tournament championship for the first time when the
teams meet in the title game at 2 p.m. Wednesday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I'm really excited," said Semenza, the Patriots' captain. "I'm looking
forward to it. I'm looking forward to winning. I want to win this time. It has
to be a team effort. No penalties. We have to do it as a team this year and
not let up like we did the last two years. (Crestwood White is) going to be a
tough team. They're always a tough team. They've got a lot of good players.
We'll do our best and see what we can do." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In Thursday's semifinals, the Patriots won on the strength of their special
teams. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pittston Area took way too many penalties, but its penalty killers were
outstanding. The Patriots killed six of eight penalties and scored the
eventual game-winning goal short-handed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 With D.J. Cook in the penalty box for roughing, Semenza corralled the
rebound of Hart's slap shot from the left circle and fired it past Comets
goalie Chris Riley with 2 minutes, 3 seconds to play in the second. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We got pretty lucky," Hart said. "I think we took them a little lighter
than we should have. Abington's a good competitor. They came out strong
tonight and gave us a real good game. " &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Patriots jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Semenza and Ray Spiccioli
before the game was even seven minutes old. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Abington didn't get down though. The Comets got a wraparound goal from
Jonathan Koslop a little more than midway through the first, and capitalized
on a giveaway in the corner with a James Scacchitti power-play goal early in
the second to even the score. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pittston retook the lead at 3:49 of the second when Matt Benedetto beat
Riley through a screen. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Semenza's short-hander at 12:57 made it 4-2. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The team's traded goals in the third period. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Way too many penalties," said Patriots coach J.J. Murphy. "I didn't want
that much practice on the penalty kill. It really hurt us. But we got good
goaltending and our guys got some breaks. We cannot expect to kill that many
penalties against Crestwood and be in the game. There's no way." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 
Crestwood White 5, Wilkes-Barre Area 2 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Joe Zitarelli scored two goals and set up a third and Brian Hosage added
two goals as two-time defending champion Crestwood White rallied from a 2-1
deficit to beat Wilkes-Barre Area in the semifinals of the Casey Classic. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kevan Nagle and Billy Brennan scored for Wilkes-Barre Area. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Casey Classic Championship &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Crestwood White vs. Pittston Area &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 2 p.m. Wednesday &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wachovia Arena &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Pittston Area Set For Final Vs. Crestwood/ The Patriots Will Meet Crestwood
White For The Third Straight Year, Hoping To Notch Their First Championship

Pittston Area Set For Final Vs. Crestwood/ The Patriots Will Meet Crestwood White For The Third Straight Year, Hoping To Notch Their First Championship