Another year, another championship for the Parkland ice hockey team.

Eric Johannes and Joseph Bantseev each tallied two goals, and Gus Schwartz and Timmy Doe both added a goal apiece in a 6-2 Trojans win over the Diocese team in game two of the best-of-three championship series last Thursday night at the Lehigh Valley Ice Arena. Parkland won 10-2 in game one over the team consisting of players from Bethlehem Catholic, Central Catholic and Notre Dame (Green Pond) high schools.

This is the seventh straight Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League title, and 10th overall for the Trojans as they continue to make their mark as a powerhouse Lehigh Valley program. They have also won 79 consecutive games in the league, with hard work and a target on their backs each and every game.

“Just like many other sports at Parkland, our ice hockey program has a rich tradition of winning,” said head coach Matt Chandik. “There’s pressure on the kids in our program to keep the success going and there’s also pressure of having the Trojans on your chest. People don’t want to see you win. Yet we embrace it.

“I tell the kids that we are the top dog. We’re the class of this league and we’re going to continue to strive to be the class of this league and embrace being the hunted.”

But winning all of those games did not come easily.

In last Thursday night’s game two, Parkland trailed twice, 1-0 and 2-1. But for much of the year, the Trojans have started slowly and battled back like champions do.

Down 2-1 after the first period, the Trojans scored the next five.

Schwartz, Johannes and Bantseev all found the back of the net in the second period. And as is the case in a lot of the goals they score, Parkland shared the puck. Each of the three second period goals were assisted. Johannes, Koby Staivecki and Louie Rivera were credited with assists, and Jake Nimeh had an assist on Doe’s third period goal.

“Not everything was going well for us at the start,” said Chandik. “It was good for us because it tested our mental resolve. We have a bunch of resilient, mentally-tough kids. The kind of kids you want in a foxhole with you, or when you are walking down a dark alley.”

Evan Dratch, the team’s leading scorer, was held without a goal in the two-game series. But it shows the type of team Parkland is, as his teammates picked him up and made sure the senior went out on top.

Goalkeeper Kevin Giltz made 19 saves on 21 shots.

Next up for the Trojans is the Flyers State Cup, which began with a first round matchup against Pennridge at Hatfield. Parkland is the ninth seed and the Rams are the eighth seed in the single-elimination tournament.

“It’s great to win the league,” said Chandik. “But this program is at a level where we believe we are more than capable at making a good run in the Flyers Cup, and that’s what we intend to do.”