Ringgold advances to PIHL Division II championship

By: Ashley Chase
Tuesday, March 12, 2019 | 11:44 AM

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Ringgold hockey is going to the ‘ship. The Rams are on the hunt for the program’s first PIHL Division II championship since 2010, punching their ticket to the final with a 5-0 shutout of Neshannock on Monday night at the RMU Island Sports Complex.

Goaltender Evan Cook made 19 saves for his second clean sheet of the season.

In two previous meetings with Neshannock this season, Cook and the Rams had won 6-5 in a shootout, and lost 4-1. This time, Cook had a little help from his friends on the offensive side.

In an evenly-matched first period, Ringgold broke through midway through the frame on a power play. Ryan Marek shot the puck from the slot and Lancers netminder Carsen Burkhart made the save, but was unable to cover up the puck. Nathan Todd chipped at the loose rubber, and Evan Eberlein poked home the first goal of the game on the man-advantage with 9:16 to play in the first.

It remained a 1-0 game throughout much of the second. After outshooting the Lancers 18-13 in the first period, Ringgold poured it on in the second. The Rams suppressed Neshannock’s scoring chances, holding them to just three shots and outshooting them by a 34-14 margin through two periods.

Ringgold was rewarded for not only their offensive effort but their diligent defensive performance with back-to-back goals late in the second period to break the game open.

With 3:19 left in the second, Ethan Saylor chipped the puck away from Zachary Steighner, Zach Kalinowski picked it up and put the puck right on the stick of Bradley Bujdos who flipped it past Burkhart and into the net to make it a 2-0 game.

Just 36 seconds later, Jeremy Bednar pounced on the puck as it popped out past Neshannock’s Michael Benson on the half-wall, skated to the net and dropped a pass from the goalline back to Eberlein flying into the slot. He fired home his second goal of the night to give the Rams a 3-0 lead heading to the locker room after two periods.

“It took a big weight off our shoulders,” said coach Rick Kalinowski, of the two late goals in the second.

Coming out for the third period, Ringgold wasted no time letting Neshannock know the gas pedal was still down. Eberlein picked up his third point of the night, this time in the assist column, feeding a pass to the waiting Noah Schroeder who ripped a shot high into the right side of the twine to give the Rams a 4-0 lead.

“I felt confident at that point,” Kalinowski said, “but I was still nervous. I’ve been coaching for 24 years working to get to a final.”

The Rams weren’t done yet and neither was Schroeder. This time, it was his turn to dish, hitting Ryan Marek for the one-timer in the left circle to put the game on ice for good.

Cook made the final of his 19 saves with time winding down in the last 15 seconds of the game, and the Rams skated away with a 5-0 semifinal win and will play for a championship against Burrell next Monday at 6 p.m. at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township.

A boisterous Rams locker room and an emotional coach celebrated the victory together after the game.

“I love it. This is what it’s all about. We went with a Ram family type of atmosphere here tonight. We had some of the student body here, which made it even more emotional. It was great,” Kalinowski said.

Tags: Neshannock, Ringgold