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Jayson Angus laughs when he looks back at some of the things he did when he was a precocious, wide-eyed freshman and sophomore in his high school hockey career at Latrobe.
But there's one thing he wouldn't change: All the winning the Wildcats have done.
Angus is one of four constants among Latrobe teams the past three years that won the Class AA Pennsylvania Cup state championship each season.
So it was only fitting that in the final game of his career, Angus would score the state championship-clincher with 6:28 left in regulation.
"Back when I was a freshman, Latrobe's goal was just to be successful, but when we won that first state championship, that changed things," said Angus, a senior. "Since, we've kept wanting to build on that and keep winning them. I don't know what's going to happen in the future, but I definitely know this program has been built up so great that it should be good for a long, long time."
As Class AA's leading goal scorer counting the playoffs, Angus was a primary reason the Wildcats were so good this season. For that, he has been named the Post-Gazette's high school hockey player of the year.
He had 33 goals and 31 assists while playing in all 25 games for Latrobe. He factored in all three goals in the win against Downingtown East in the state title game at Mellon Arena April 1, including scoring the first and last goals of the 3-2 victory
Angus, linemate Zach LaDuke and defensemen Tyler Ridder and Josh Harris are the only players to play on all three state title teams. Ridder was the team's captain and Angus an alternate.
"It was not just a letter designation on his chest; Jayson is one of those who leads by example," Wildcats coach Dan Ridder said. "This team hasn't had a drop-off because the seniors made sure it was all about teamwork, and Jayson definitely leads the charge with that."
Angus has moved up in the Junior Penguins organization throughout his hockey-playing life and was the second-leading scorer on the Junior B Empire team this season.
Alexander Baskakov Canon-McMillan
• A sophomore who led all Class AAA defenseman in scoring with 29 points in 25 games, Baskakov was at his best during the postseason. He had six assists in four games as the Big Macs won the school's first Penguins Cup and advanced to the Pennsylvania Cup state championship game.
Zach LaDuke Latrobe
• LaDuke was the Wildcats' leading scorer during the postseason with six goals and eight assists in four games. A junior, he had 26 goals and 39 assists in 25 games.
Erik Manetta Serra
• A senior, Manetta won the Class A regular-season scoring title (32 goals, 52 assists for 84 points) by 18 points over runner-up Alex Mueller of Hampton. It was the second consecutive season the Liberty Borough resident led Class A in points. Manetta has 161 points the past two regular seasons.
Mike Mazzotta Mars
• Mazzotta was an alternate captain for a Planets team that defended its Class A Penguins Cup title and this season won its first state championship. A senior, he had 15 goals and 21 assists in 18 regluar-season games and added nine points in three playoff games.
Ryan Schutte Seneca Valley
• Schutte backstopped the Raiders to the Class AAA Penguins Cup title game for the second consecutive season. A senior, he allowed only four goals on 73 shots in the playoffs for a 1.31 goals against average, .945 save percentage -- improving on his already-strong 2.20 and .893 during the regular season.
Mike White's "High School Sports Edition" videos are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
