A-K Valley PIHL preview: Burrell setting sights on championship

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 29, 2018 | 10:45 PM

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Burrell felt confident it could compete in the PIHL when it rejoined the league in 2016 after nearly a decade away.

How quickly it happened came as a surprise even to the Bucs.

In a span of two seasons, Burrell went from PIHL newcomer to Penguins Cup championship contender. But the Bucs, last season’s Division 2 runner-up, have their eyes on a new title this year: champion. And with a few key newcomers joining a deep roster of returners, the Bucs believe they have the ammunition to make it happen.

Their run toward a hoped-for championship begins against Neshannock on Monday at Pittsburgh Ice Arena.

”I think we’re going to be even better this year,” Burrell coach Max Rickard said, pointing to victories over higher-classification teams Freeport and Shaler in a pair of recent scrimmages as an example. “It gives the guys the mentality that they can beat anybody in the PIHL, at least in those two divisions. I really think we’re going to be a top-notch team again this year, expecting big things.”

Rickard said the 2016-17 season, which saw the Bucs qualify for the playoffs, showed the program what it could accomplish. Then came last season, when they finished third in the standings and beat Kennedy Catholic and Ringgold in the playoffs before losing 7-4 to Moon in the championship game.

Junior Tyler Stewart, the PIHL’s leading scorer with 44 goals and 67 points, returns to lead what should be a high-scoring Burrell attack. He will be joined by forward Dylan Zelonka (41 points) and Logan Schoepf, defensemen Bryce Schueler and Nathan Smith. Austin Schueler will step in as the starting goaltender, replacing Drew Burkett and Colin Bistarkey.

Rickard pinpointed Jonas Sopko, who plays travel hockey for the Cleveland Barons, as a newcomer to watch on offense, comparing him to Stewart. Burrell scored 101 goals last regular season, tops in Division 2, but gave up a middle-of-the-pack 62.

“The defensive zone last year was a big thing for us, and it was evident in the preseason games that’s something we need to work on,” Rickard said. “But, again, there’s going to be no shortage of goals for the Burrell Bucs this year.”

Some newcomers to Division 2 include Bishop Canevin, Knoch and Neshannock.

Knoch hopes to follow the path Burrell established two seasons ago as the Knights are fielding a varsity team for the first time in several years. Former Freeport coach Ryan Cooper is at the helm for Knoch , which will open its season Tuesday against Connellsville at Ice Mine .

Class A

Perhaps no greater motivator exists than a near-miss on a playoff spot, and that’s where Deer Lakes was in February. A loss to Kiski Area in the regular-season finale kept the Lancers out of the postseason.

“I think all of our team is very hungry,” said Blaise Steadman, who takes over as coach after leading the middle school team. “We have eight seniors. I know those boys don’t want to go out on a negative season.”

Last season marked Deer Lakes’ first on the varsity level since 2013-14, and the Lancers experienced some success before falling short of the playoffs.

Deer Lakes will get defensive almost by necessity after the graduation of top scorer Ryan Murdock (36 goals) and fellow forwards Mike Mlinarcik and Dylan George. Seniors Cam Smith and Chris Rudy and junior Pietro Porco will anchor the blue line, and goaltender Christian Long also returns. Shane Miller, the second-leading scorer last season, and Luke Norkus are two potential top offensive threats at center. The Lancers begin the season Thursday against Beaver at Bradys Run Ice Arena.

Since returning to PIHL varsity play in 2015, Kiski Area qualified for the Penguins Cup playoffs three consecutive seasons. But the Cavaliers might face an uphill climb in extending the streak to four.

The bulk of Kiski Area’s scoring punch graduated after last season, including Austin LaPiana, who tied for the Class A lead with 39 goals and ranked third with 57 points, James Ayres (31 points) and Jonathan Hartill (25 points). That leaves Ryan Welsh (19 points) as the top returning scorer. Eric Petika returns in net for the Cavaliers , who host Norwin on Monday .

Freeport is hoping it can bounce back quickly after winning just three games last season, which saw the Yellowjackets outscored 137-51.

The Yellowjackets were a Penguins Cup playoff team as recently as 2017, and they hope to return this season. Kelly Mason returned as coach after a three-year absence, emphasizing offseason conditioning with a smaller roster.

“We’ve come to the conclusion that to compete this year, we’ve got to be a tough team to play against,” Mason said. “We’ve got to be in shape, and they took that and ran with it this summer, no pun intended.”

Captain Slade Ohl, a defenseman, and forwards Alex Colflesh, Case Haberstroh and Connor Hoffman lead a motivated senior class, Mason said. Senior Sean Fennell came back to the team and will play goal.

Fox Chapel knows the value of a rebound season. After going 0-19 in 2016-17, the Foxes dropped to Class A last season and posted a winning record, advancing to the playoffs, where they lost to Sewickley Academy in the first round.

With the graduation of PIHL All-Stars Willie Doyle, Seth and Shane Krhovsky and Chase Villani, Fox Chapel will lean on its holdovers, including Colby Zmenkowski (21 points), in its hopes to return to the playoffs. The Foxes will face Moon in their season opener Monday at Robert Morris’ Island Sports Center.

Deer Lakes, Freeport and Fox Chapel play in the North Division and will play only divisional teams through the regular season. Kiski Area, a member of the South/East division, will play games against teams in the South/East and South/West divisions.

Class AA

After winning the Penguins Cup title in Class AA in 2017, Plum rose to Class AAA last season and won just seven of 17 regular-season games, edging into the postseason as the eighth and final playoff seed. And although they gave top-seeded Peters Township all it could handle in the first round, the Mustangs still went home.

Now back in Class AA, Plum isn’t making any excuses for last season and is setting its sets high for 2018-19 . Former Mustangs player Phil Mains, previously an assistant at Pitt, takes over behind the bench at his alma mater.

A trio of seniors will lead the way for Plum , which begins its season Monday against Hempfield at Kirk S. Nevin Arena . A.J. Adamski led the Mustangs in scoring with seven goals and 15 points last season. Noah Sachs will move from forward to defense to shore up the blue line, and John Kadlecik will provide more depth at forward.

“I think we’re capable of a lot, and I hope all the boys feel that way, too,” Mains said. “We talked about our goals before the season, and some of them, in my mind, were set a little too low. We can compete with anybody, and we’re expecting to beat anybody that we go up against. I’m expecting us to be right there for the division if everything goes the way we think it should, and that’s the first goal. ”

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Doug at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Burrell, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Kiski School, Knoch, Plum