PIHL Penguins Cup Playoff Recap for Friday, March 16th

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, March 16, 2012 | 11:20 PM

The final peice of the PIHL Penguins Cup Semifinals picture was emphatically put into place Friday night. Class AAA power Canon-McMillan won big to round out the Final Four for next week in the high school hockey playoffs.

Special thanks to Brandon Rebel for this recap.

PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS AAA QUARTERFINALS:

Canon-McMillan Big Macs 9 – Norwin Knights 2
The AAA Quarterfinals ended in blowout fashion with Canon McMillan defeating the Norwin Knights by a score of 9-2 in the Ice-o-Plex at Southpointe. The second seed Big Macs dominated from start to finish with an awesome display of team speed that Norwin could not catch up with. Things started off quickly with a Zach McKown shorthanded goal at 2:06. In a penalty-filled contest, Canon Mac's special teams were spectacular, featuring three shorthanded goals and two powerplay tallys. Two of those shorthanded goals belonged to Carmen Dalesandro who tacked on an even-strength goal for the hat-trick. Austin Tonkovich also added two goals and a helper while James Oddi pitched in with two goals against the Knights. Norwin looked stunned at times as Canon McMillan showed why they are one of the top teams in Class AAA in their first game of the 2012 PIHL playoff season. Norwin's two goals were scored by Juniors Robert Romeo and Marc Swankler. Seven seed Norwin ends their season at 12-10-2. Second seed Canon Mac pushed their overall record to 20-3.The Canon McMillan Big Macs will face the Peters Township Indians on Wed., March 21 at the Island Sports Complex for the chance to advance to the Consol Energy Center for the Penguins Cup Championship.

MSA 3 Stars of the Game:
1 – Carmen Dalesandro  (3G)
2 – Austin Tonkovich  (2G, 1A)
3 – Zach McKown  (1G, 2A)

Mt. Lebanon Ice Arena Play of the Game:
– A slick area pass by Nicholas Harrison set Carmen Dalesandro loose on a shorthanded breakaway. Dalesandro buried it after a smooth forehand-backhand move for the hat-trick to make it 8-1 Canon Mac.