PIHL Notebook – 12/15/2014

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, December 15, 2014 | 2:15 PM

Welcome to another edition of “PIHL Notebook,” your weekly companion to “The PIHL Power Play” on the MSA Sports Network. First up, “Melting the Ice” provides your weekly thermometer of streaking teams around the league. Meanwhile, this week’s “Scoreboard Watch” includes some tight finishes in Class B and C along with a vintage match-up in Class AAA. Last but not least, we round things out with a preview of upcoming MSA broadcasts, including a battle between two of the top teams in Class A. So, let’s light the lamp on this edition of “PIHL Notebook.”

MELTING THE ICE (Records listed indicate current unbeaten streak):

Class AAA: North Allegheny (6-0-2); Peters Township (3-0-1); Butler (2-0-2); Pittsburgh Central Catholic (2-0-1)

Class AA: Shaler (9-0-0); Hampton (4-0-0)

Class A: Quaker Valley (9-0-0); Thomas Jefferson (8-0-0); Deer Lakes (6-0-0); Freeport (5-0-0); Franklin Regional (3-0-0)

Class B: Harbor Creek (8-0-0); Indiana (6-0-1); Blackhawk (4-0-0); Peters Township (3-0-0)

Class C: Carrick (11-0-0)

SCOREBOARD WATCH:

Class AAA

12/11/14 – Bethel Park 0-2-0=2, Mount Lebanon 0-0-1=1 … The classic rivalry wrote another chapter in a tight-checking game as the Black Hawks (7-3-1) held off the feisty Blue Devils (4-6-1). Andrew Bello got Bethel on the board at 10:41 of the second period before setting up Louie McLinden for the winner on the power play 61 seconds later. Griffin Nelson answered for Lebo just 2:05 into the third, but William Lowe held the fort from there, finishing the night with 23 saves. He was outdone by his counterpart, though, as Joel Kirshner turned aside 32 shots. Tyler Kruszewski registered assists on both goals in the win.

Class AA

12/12/14 – Fox Chapel 2-4-3=9, Baldwin 2-3-1=6 … The Foxes (5-3-2) barely took a 6-5 lead into the locker room, and the Highlanders (2-8-0) would tie it early in the third, but Fox Chapel went on a three-goal binge in the final five minutes to earn the victory. All 15 goals in this one were scored at even strength, including the winner from Chase Villani at 11:57, part of a five-point effort (3 G, 2 A), numbers matched by teammate Ben Friedland. Baldwin also got the chance to toss some hats on the ice for Brian Dee (4 G, 1 A). The Foxes took the edge in shots 34-25.

Class A

12/12/14 – Franklin Regional 3-1-3=7, Greensburg Salem 0-1-1=2 … The Panthers (6-4-0) got all the offense they would need in the first period to defeat the Golden Lions (2-7-0). Ethan Bennett gets credit for the winner at 14:58 of the first period, part of a four-point effort (1 G, 3 A). He was not the top performer, though, as Cameron Huffman (2 G, 4 A) posted six points. Jamie Mauro also contributed three points for Franklin Regional (2 G, 1 A) while Nicholas Paone made 23 saves. Ryan Collette managed one goal and one assist for Greensburg Salem.

Class B

12/11/14 – Peters Township 0-2-2=4, Upper St. Clair 2-1-0=3 … The Indians (6-4-0) trailed the Panthers (1-9-0) 3-2 through two periods, but Peters tied it on a shorthanded goal from Josh Hilzendeger at 5:56 of the third. The game nearly saw overtime, but Cal Raymore prevented that with seven seconds on the clock. Conner Gielarowski set up two goals in the winning effort while Wesley Kaylor made 19 saves. Sean Stevenson scored twice for USC.

Class C

12/9/14 – Ringgold 0-3-2=5, Trinity 2-0-1=3 … The Golden Rams (4-5-0) completed a two-night sweep of the Hillers (1-7-1), but it was a back-and-forth affair. Trinity built a two-goal lead after one period, but Ringgold led 3-2 when the Zamboni hit the ice. Alex Nageli scored the eventual winner on the power play 10:30 of the third. Ryan Latkovic pulled the Hillers back within a goal at 15:45, but Nageli put it out of reach at 16:20. Jared Lucas recorded one goal and two assists for the Rams while Cole Crownover made 31 saves.

UPCOMING MSA BROADCASTS

12/15/14 – Class A – South Fayette Lions vs. Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles @ Mount Lebanon Ice Arena (LIVE VIDEO STREAM) … The Lions (2-9-0) enter this one having dropped six in a row while the Golden Eagles (1-8-1) haven’t won since the season opener. The Lions boast the better offense of the two (34 GF), but have allowed more than twice that number (82 GA). Jordan Timmons leads South Fayette with 15 goals and 21 points while Spencer Barber has been cashed in with four power play goals. The Golden Eagles are bottom of the class with 22 goals, but look better defensively with 64 allowed. Keystone Oaks can at least boast a balanced attack with nine points each coming from Eugene Barilla (5 G, 4 A), Matthew Brestensky (3 G, 6 A) and Andrius Petrauska (2 G, 7 A). The puck drops at 9:10 PM with Scott Majesky and Lou Rood on the call while Don Rebel mans the camera.

12/15/14 – Class A – Freeport Yellowjackets vs. Hempfield Spartans @ Kirk Nevin in Greensburg … This promises to be a preview of things to come in March with the Yellowjackets (7-3-0) winning five straight as noted above while the Spartans (9-2-0) have won four of their last five contests. Hempfield is tied for fourth in the class with 75 goals while bested defensively only by Quaker Valley with 28 allowed. Luke Rosendal has paced the attack with 20 goals, 33 points and four shorthanded markers, Andrew Koziara has contributed 16 helpers and  Garret Ciaramella has been the number one backstop (7-1-0, 2.25 GAA, 0.907 SV%, 1 SO). Freeport has played it quite a bit closer to the vest with a plus-11 goal differential. Stone Haberstroh (12 G, 9 A) and Robert Reichenbaugh (4 G, 17 A) have put up 21 points apiece while Matt Houston (3-1-0, 3.43 GAA, 0.913 SV%) has played the most minutes out of the three-goalie rotation. The puck drops at 7:15 PM with Josh Rowntree and Sean Meyers on the call.

12/18/14 – Class C – John Marshall Monarchs vs. Elizabeth Forward Warriors @ Rostraver Ice Gardens … Both teams enter this one looking to snap a two-game losing streak. The Monarchs (1-8-1) have struggled to say the least with a minus-39 goal differential. Nicholas Fitzpatrick leads the offense with six goals and seven points while Kyle Patrick’s 0.843 save percentage is better than his personal 1-7-1 mark suggests. Meanwhile, the Warriors (5-4-1) have the best offense (42 GF) and defense (34 GA) of any team in Class C not named Carrick. Jacob Boucher has posted a team-best 10 goals and 18 points while Devon Quiggle has been in a giving mood with 10 assists. Noah Santo has been the only Elizabeth Forward goaltender thus far, posting a 3.35 GAA and 0.901 save percentage. The puck drops at 6:20 PM with Lou Rood and Chris Lackner on the call.

That wraps up this edition of “PIHL Notebook,” but check back every Monday through March for more news from around the league. In the meantime, Adam Hoerner and Josh Rowntree host another episode of “The PIHL Power Play” this Wednesday night at 8:00. Joining us this week will be new PIHL Commissioner Jim Black (and this time we mean it) and South Park forward Kirk Zandier. Your home for the 2015 Penguins Cup Playoffs is the MSA Sports Network!