Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

Starry night in Hershey

CPIHL's finest match skills in All-Star twinbill Starry night in Hershey

HERSHEY -- Hempfield's Devyn Tankesley called it the greatest hockey experience he's had so far.

Lampeter-Strasburg's Dylan Garrett said his hands and feet were freezing but everything else was warm.

They were describing ice hockey in perhaps its purest form, played outside, in winter.

In the deep of winter.

"It was a great time, to be out in the cold, just like the old days,'' Garrett said. "I can't really feel my hands and feet but other than that I'm warm.''

With two goals apiece, Tankesley and Garrett helped power Team Cassivi to a 12-5 victory over Team Freer in the first game of the Central Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League's All-Star doubleheader on the erected outdoor rink at Hersheypark Stadium on Wednesday night.

In the second game, Manheim Township goalie Brandon Davis made 11 saves on 13 shots in the third period to preserve the 8-3 win for Team Fenyves.

Tankesley and Garrett were two of a contingent of 21 players from Lancaster teams, selected in a draft to fill out the four all-star teams. Some players sported eye black to cut down on glare from the stadium's light.

The teams were named for their coaches, all of whom -- Freddy Cassivi, Mark Freer, Mitch Lamoreux and Dave Fenyves -- are former Hershey Bears players.

Manheim Township's Chad Neiss and Penn Manor's Kevin Reinhart had a pair of assists each for Team Cassivi, which led 2-0 after the first period and 8-1 after the second.

Kennard-Dale/Susquehannock's Alex Smith, playing for Team Cassivi, led all scorers with five goals.

"We just came ready to play,'' said Garrett. "We worked well together, even though we haven't played together.''

With the temperatures in the upper teens yet not much wind, one might figure the ice to be in optimum condition. But the players reported it as a bit choppy. Plus, officials halted the game twice to fill in ruts.

Still, it was a great night for Team Freer, which also featured Manheim Township's Alex Mahajan (one assist), Township's Alex Busque (one assist) and Ephrata's Josh Buohl.

Elizabethtown's Cassidy Galeone, the No. 2 scorer in the CPIHL's Tier 1, scored one of Team Freer's five goals and Hempfield goalie Kollin Brakefield played the third period. Other Team Freer players were L-S's Kyle Martin and E-town's Tyler Christian.

In the second game, Elizabethtown's Brady Dolan scored with 7:08 to play in the first period to even the score at 1-1 for Team Lamoureux, roofing the puck over goalie Marc Dauphoars of Wilson. Dolan was assisted on the play by Penn Manor's Matt Gue.

"Tristan (Enck) gave me a nice pass,'' said Dolan, Tier 1's leading scorer with 62 points this season. "Got lucky and put it top shelf.''

Team Fenyves, which included Penn Manor's Jason Green, L-S's Dillon Moore, Hempfield's Ted Granbois and Ephrata's Trevor Seibel, came back and scored the next seven goals to take an 8-1 lead.

Manheim Central's Travis Kauffman cut into the lead when he scored for Team Lamoureux with 10:41 to play in the third period. But Davis, who owns the best save percentage in Tier 2 and was the busiest of the three Team Fenyves goalies, allowed only one more goal. His best save came when he plucked a Kauffman slapshot out of the air soon after Kauffman's goal.

Other Team Lamoureux players included Casey Witmyer and Stephen Crawford from Warwick.

It's not likely that the players will forget the night. The first thing they will remember is the bitter cold. But they'll remember the games, too.

Played outside, just like in the old days.

"Fun to be out on the same ice as the Bears played on,'' Dolan said.

"Just a great experience,'' said Garrett.

kfreeman@lnpnews.com