PIHL Notebook – 01/12/2015

By: Bruce Markey
Monday, January 12, 2015 | 11:56 AM

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 the final winless team in the league erasing the goose egg, an overtime thriller in Class A and a surprising result among top seeds in Class B. Last but not least, we round things out with a preview six-pack of upcoming MSA broadcasts, including a trio of Class AAA battles. So, let’s light the lamp on this edition of “PIHL Notebook.”

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

Class AAA: Peters Township (6-0-1); Butler (4-0-2); Pine-Richland (4-0-1)

Class AA: Shaler (10-0-0); Erie Cathedral Prep (4-0-0)

Class A: Quaker Valley (12-0-1); Mars (6-0-0)

Class B: Harbor Creek (10-0-0)

Class C: Carrick (13-0-0); OLSH (5-0-0)

SCOREBOARD WATCH:

Class AAA

1/5/15 – Penn-Trafford 1-1-2=4, State College 1-0-2=3 … The Warriors (1-12-1) fell behind 1-0 midway through the first period, but tied it late, went ahead late in the second and then matched the Little Lions (2-11-0) goal-for-goal in the third to pick up their first win of the season. The game-winner went to Nathan Mickey at 8:43 of the third, part of a 2-1 edge in power play goals on the night for Penn-Trafford. The only multi-point getter was Andrew Moscone with two assists for State College. Eric Phelps was brilliant in net making 39 saves as the Warriors were out shot 42-35.

Class AA

1/5/15 – Erie Cathedral Prep 1-1-3=5, Plum 0-3-0=3 … The Mustangs (3-8-1) came back from two goals down to take a 3-2 lead after two periods, but the Ramblers (10-2-0) had a three-goal explosion of their own in the final frame to pick up the victory. All the goals came at even strength with Richard Vicary netting the winner at 13:29 of the third. Plum got a goal and an assist each from David Stonebraker and Dillon Joyce. Erie got three points (1 G, 2 A) from Jacob Schlosser, plus two assists each from Ben Eliason and William Kelly. The Ramblers more than doubled up in the shots column 48-20, but credit the Mustangs’ backstop James Borriello for his 44 stops.

Class A

61/8/15 – Bishop McCort 0-1-1-1=3, Keystone Oaks 0-1-1-0=2 (OT) … The Crimson Crushers (7-6-0) erased 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to defeat the Golden Eagles (1-11-1) in overtime. Eugene Barilla got Keystone Oaks on the board at 10:29 of the second period on the power play before Tristan Mock tied it on a penalty shot at 13:56. Andrius Petrauska made it 2-1 at 7:29 of the third, but Colin Turnbull tied it for Bishop McCort at 9:05, setting the stage for Connor Bunn to bury the winner 4:46 into the extra frame. Tristan Mock assisted on the game-tying and game-winning goals for the Crimson Crushers. Both goalies were plenty busy with John Bradley turning aside 33 shots in the victory, but give credit to Jonathan Mead for making 52 stops at the other end.

Class B

1/5/15 – Harbor Creek 1-3-3=7, Indiana 0-2-0=2 … The top-seeded Huskies (10-1-0) dominated the second-seeded Little Indians (9-2-2) on the scoreboard thanks mostly to a three-goal third period. Zack Morris, who finished with two goals, buried the winner at 6:45 of the second. Luke Lewandowski scored both Indiana goals, including one on the power play. Harbor Creek got big nights from Nick Rocco (4 G) and Logan Conboy (3 A), outshot Indiana 29-27 and saw winning goalie Hunter Meyette make 25 saves.

Class C

1/5/15 – OLSH 0-2-1=3, Ringgold 0-1-0=1 … The Rams (5-7-0) broke the scoreless tie off the stick of Kevin Mosqueda at 11:16 of the first period, but goals from Jonathan Kim and Ethan Weisser made it 2-1 less than a minute later. The Chargers (10-3-0) would then close the scoring out courtesy of Paul Heflin at 15:40 of the third. Both goaltenders also performed well in the only Class C game this week, seeing Cole Crownover turning aside 25 shots in the loss while Anthony Covelli made 26 saves for OLSH.

UPCOMING MSA BROADCASTS

1/12/15 – Class AAA – Canon-McMillan Big Macs vs North Allegheny Tigers AT Bladerunners in Warrendale … The Big Macs (7-5-1) are on a three-game losing streak while the Tigers (9-2-2) are coming off a win, going 2-1-2 in their last five contests. Luc Lavella (7 G, 12 A) and Austin Tonkovich (12 G, 6 A) top Canon-McMillan’s fourth-ranked offense (53 GF) while Conor Hartnett (6-3-1, 2.74 GAA, 0.881 SV%, 1 SO) has shined in net. Erik Chidester (6 G, 11 A) leads the North Allegheny offense, but its first-ranked defense (21 GA) is grabbing the headlines thanks to Douglas Wild (5-0-0, 1.19 GAA, 0.942 SV%, 2 SO) and Joseph Hubert (4-2-2, 1.83 GAA, 0.927 SV%, 1 SO). The Big Macs took the previous meeting 3-2 on October 21, getting the game-winner from Jacob McClelland and two assists from Tonkovich. The puck drops on the rematch at 6:30 PM with Matt Vandriak and Sean Meyers on the call.

1/12/15 – Class AAA – Butler Golden Tornado vs. Upper St. Clair Panthers AT Ice Castle in Castle Shannon … The Golden Tornado (8-3-3) are on a six-game unbeaten streak as noted above while the Panthers (6-8-1) are 2-3-0 in their last five and coming off a win. Butler boasts the second-best offense in the class (62 GF), driven by Connor Scott (11 G, 11 A) and Dustin Davis (13 G, 7 A), while its fourth-ranked defense (34 GA) is keyed in net by Clay Bachman (7-3-2, 2.23 GAA, 0.924 SV%, 2 SO). Upper St. Clair is right behind Butler offensively (58 GF) with Austin Cassidy (22 G, 12 A) starring, including six goals in odd-man situations (3 PP, 3 SH). Meanwhile, Adam Seeton (5-6-1, 3.21 GAA, 0.863 SV%, 1 SO) has been solid if not spectacular between the pipes for USC. The Panthers won the previous meeting 6-4 on October 23, getting five points (4 G, 1 SH, 1 A) from Cassidy. The puck drops at 7:00 PM with Don Rebel and Chris Lackner on the call.

1/12/15 – Class A – Quaker Valley Quakers vs. Deer Lakes Lancers AT Ice Connection in Valencia … The Quakers (13-1-1) are enjoying quite the unbeaten streak as noted above while the Lancers (12-3-0) are 3-2-0 in their last five and coming off a victory. QV’s second-ranked attack (107 GF) is led by Adam Pilewicz (29 G, 38 A) and Connor Quinn (27 G, 33 A) while its top-ranked defense (31 GA) stars Parker Sherry (8-1-0, 1.46 GAA, 0.927 SV%, 4 SO). Deer Lakes leads the class with 120 goals, Mitch Rupprecht (46 G, 27 A) leads the league with 73 points, Zach Luniewski (30 G, 39 A) is right behind him and Jonathan Lang (3.33 GAA, 0.875 SV%) has been the iron man in net. The Quakers took the previous meeting 6-3 on October 20, getting five points apiece from Quinn (3 G, 2 A) and Pilewicz (1 G, 4 A). The puck drops at 7:10 PM with Pete Blais and Lee Mohn on the call while Scott Majesky will man the camera.

1/13/15 – Class AA – Bishop Canevin Crusaders vs. Fox Chapel Foxes AT Bladerunners in Harmarville … The Crusaders (5-6-0) and Foxes (6-4-2) are both 3-2-0 in their last five and coming off victories. Blaine Adams (10 G, 15 A) and Thomas Krivak (16 G, 7 A) have paced the Canevin offense, including a combined seven goals on special teams (4 PP, 3 SH). Ben Friedland (11 G, 13 A) and Jonathan Rice (9 G, 10 A) lead Fox Chapel, and have also been productive on special teams (4 PP, 2 SH). The puck drops at 9:00 PM with Bob Orkwis and Brandon Showers on the call while Scott Majesky will man the camera.

1/15/15 – Class B – Peters Township Indians vs. Blackhawk Cougars AT Beaver County Ice … The Indians (6-6-0) have lost back-to-back outings while the Cougars just saw a five-game winning streak snapped, so both teams will look to right the ship here. Neither team has been dynamic offensively with Conner Gielarowski (5 G, 8 A) leading Peters while Grant Rombold (11 G, 9 A) has paced Blackhawk. The defense has gotten it done for both teams, with Wesley Kaylor (6-5-0, 2.99 GAA, 0.861 SV%) leading Peters while Corey Steinle (2.82 GAA, 0.917 SV%, 1 SO) has played every minute for Blackhawk’s second-ranked defense (31 GA). The Indians won the previous meeting 3-2 on October 28, getting 31 saves from Kaylor and the deciding goal from Jake Majestic while Rombold registered two points (1 G, 1 A) and Steinle stopped 35 shots. The puck drops at 8:45 PM with Pete Blais and Mike Azadian on the call.

1/15/15 – Class AAA – Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings vs. Mount Lebanon Blue Devils AT Mount Lebanon Ice Arena … The Vikings (4-8-2) are 2-3-0 in their last five outings and coming off a loss while the Blue Devils (6-7-1) have the same five-game mark but enter on the winning track. Jake Tepe (7 G, 8 A) and Ryan Kingerski (7 G, 13 A) lead the Central attack while George Farrell (11 G, 11 A) and Reed Farber (7 G, 12 A) star for Lebo, which has also gotten solid goaltending from Joel Kirshner (4-6-0, 2.78 GAA, 0.896 SV%, 1 SO). The previous meeting ended in a 4-4 tie on October 28. Kingerski (2 G, 1 A) and Nate Cava (32 SV) led the Vikings while the Blue Devils got two points from three different players along with 29 saves from Ryan Wessbecher. The puck drops at 9:10 PM with Bob Orkwis and Gero Von Dahn on the call while Scott Majesky will man the camera.

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 Indiana forward Luke Lewandowski and Bishop McCort head coach John Bradley. Your home for the 2015 Penguins Cup Playoffs is the MSA Sports Network!