North Allegheny hockey team rides wave of all-stars

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, January 17, 2019 | 8:00 PM

North Allegheny senior forward Dylan Watkins is relishing the thought of sharing a locker room with Peters Township’s Torrey Schwartz and Ryan Luppe.

Sure, 20 days ago the teams squared off to determine which would top the standings in the PIHL’s Class AAA.

But when it comes time for the 2019 PIHL All-Star Event on Jan. 27 at the Robert Morris Island Sports Center, Watkins will be on the same side as some of his rivals.

“I think it’s awesome,” Watkins said. “A lot of my friends play at other schools. It will be different being in the locker room with guys I compete with.”

North Allegheny, which is second in Class AAA with a 10-3 record, will send six players to the all-star event. Other North Allegheny players who qualified were senior forward Aaron Miler, senior goalie Richard Karapandi, senior defensemen Tyler Duderstadt and Justin Symons and junior forward Tyler LaMark.

Watkins qualified for his first appearance by scoring seven goals and handing out three assists.

This season, Watkins isn’t playing any travel hockey.

“I wanted to work hard and focus on the school team,” Watkins said.

All of the Tigers are focused on getting back to the Penguins Cup final. North Allegheny hasn’t brought home a title since 2013 and lost in the semifinals last season.

North Allegheny coach Mike Bagnato is thrilled with how this group has meshed together. “I think it means a lot to these guys to go,” Bagnato said. “This is a good group of kids. Haden Shimko told me not to nominate him because he’s injured, and his first game back is going to be (Jan. 18).”

Bagnato appreciates the effort he gets from all of his guys.

Karapandi is second in the PIHL with a .938 save percentage and has an 8-2 mark this season.

Duderstadt, who has four goals and three assists, does whatever it takes to get to games.

“Duder plays with the Vengeance team. He tries to make everything,” Bagnato said. “Twice now he’s driven from practice, leaving from Harmarville to get to a game at Erie at 7 p.m. … I would think because we’ve done a good job of creating a fun place to play and a good culture, we’ve made it worth their while to play on our team.”

Miller leads the team in points with eight goals and six assists in 10 games played, and LaMark (two goals, nine assists) and Symons (three goals and assists) have found ways to contribute. “We’re a really tight team,” Watkins said. “We don’t have one kid that doesn’t get along. We win and lose together. No one gets singled out for their mistakes.”

Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.

Tags: North Allegheny