The Penguins Cup champion Penn-Trafford High School hockey team is headed east to compete against North Penn in the Class 2A state finals, and their classmates cheered the players on Friday afternoon as they boarded the bus for West Chester.
The Warriors won their first Pens Cup title on Monday against Hempfield, 4-3.
In the process, the team went viral for calling a trick play that led to the team’s second goal in the Pens Cup final. The play was based on a similar one run by the Michigan Wolverines hockey team in the 1996 NCAA hockey tournament.
Players were surprised on Friday as they were called to pick up their gear before being led out the high school’s front door, where classmates were waiting and the marching band paraded them down the school’s main driveway to the team bus.
The surprise also meant several players ended up walking back down the short parade route, getting a second round of applause as they headed to their cars to grab their hockey gear.
Family members were gathered near the buses to wish sons and grandsons well as they prepare to vie for the state championship against reigning 2A champion North Penn.
The game is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Ice Line in West Chester.