North Allegheny hockey relies on line combinations

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, October 18, 2018 | 9:09 PM

North Allegheny hockey coach Mike Bagnato feels the Tigers could have devastating balance.

When weighing North Allegheny’s prospects, Bagnato put pressure on himself and assistant coach Andrew Siess to make all the pieces fit.

“We have four lines that can compete if we match them properly,” Bagnato said. “Andrew Siess does a great job of mixing and matching. Now that we are a couple of games in, we have a good idea of what we want.”

Working well together yielded North Allegheny a 3-0 start. The Tigers played Bethel Park in a game that ended too late for this edition but beat Cathedral Prep (1-0), Mt. Lebanon (6-1) and Peters Township (5-3).

A win over the Indians provided senior Haden Shimko an early season lift. North Allegheny had its season ended by Peters Township the past two seasons.

“We want to stay positive,” said Shimko, who is tied for team lead in points with four, including a team-high three assists. “The big thing to do when getting down is to stay focused and calm. Bad bounces can happen.”

North Allegheny stays focused by adapting. Last year, Shimko was used to playing with different people.

While he typically plays with Aaron Miller, who also has four points (one goal, three assists), Shimko is happy to try any combination his coaches come up with.

The Tigers’ mix has resulted in eight goal scorers thus far. Tyler Duderstadt, Tyler Lamark, Justin Symons and Dylan Watkins have scored twice.

“I think it starts in practice,” Shimko said. “When we do drills, we do drills that force us to work together. What happens in practices correlates to what happens in the game.”

Goaltender Richard Karapandi has provided North Allegheny plenty of time to get its offense right. He has stopped 72 of 76 shots and recorded a shutout to open the season.

“Richard Karapandi has been a brick wall,” Shimko said. “When there’s any skirmish in front of the net, he’s been the last line of defense. Against Peters, he faced 16 shots in the third period and shut the door.”

Starting strong won’t keep Bagnato passive. As the season progresses, he continually will be looking to put his best lineup on the ice.

“We try to look and see the best fit for the team,” Bagnato said. “I always like to adjust to how the game changes. There’s a lot more speed now. You don’t have to worry about banging people around and puck possession. We always try to adjust.”

Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.

Tags: North Allegheny