PIHL Notebook – 01/25/2016

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, January 25, 2016 | 3:32 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 overtime action in Class AA and Class A. Last but not least, we round things out with a preview of upcoming MSA broadcasts, including a battle of Class A powers and a clash between two teams trying to grab the last playoff spot in Class C. So, let’s light the lamp on this edition of “PIHL Notebook.”

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

Class AAA: Pittsburgh Central Catholic (4-0-2); North Allegheny (5-0-0); Peters Township (3-0-0); Erie Cathedra Prep (3-0-0)

Class AA: Bishop Canevin (4-0-1); Plum (2-0-1)

Class A: Montour (10-0-1); South Fayette (3-0-1); Freeport (3-0-0)

Division 2: Beaver (11-0-0); Meadville (6-0-0); Carrick (4-0-0); Blackhawk (3-0-0); Indiana (3-0-0)

SCOREBOARD WATCH:

Class AAA

1/22/16 – Upper St. Clair 4, Seneca Valley 3 … The Panthers (4-9-2) edged out the Raiders (8-7-0) 2-1 in the first period, and that margin would hold up after a 2-2 second and a scoreless third. The deciding goal went to Sean Stevenson at the 10:33 mark of the middle frame. Matthew Finn (1 G, 1 A) and Joshua Koch (2 A) contributed multiple points for Upper St. Clair while Adam Seeton made 25 saves. Shane Galla set up two goals for Seneca Valley, which controlled the shots column 28-18.

Class AA

1/18/16 … North Hills 4, Mars 3 (OT) … This one was a chess match with each team scoring once per period. The Indians (6-11-0) held leads of 1-0 and 3-2 while the Fighting Planets (12-4-1) led 2-1 in between. William Foley of Mars sent the game into overtime with his second goal a mere two seconds before the third period ended. However, North Hills only needed 44 seconds to net the winner from Nathan Waters Virgin. Beau Heakins and Jonathan Kowalkowski each set up two goals in the losing effort. Jesse Weideman (1 G, 2 A) and Gannon Warrick (3 A) led the way offensively in victory. The Planets controlled the shots 27-21, but Alec Volz (5 saves) and Dominic Porco (19 saves) stopped enough rubber for the Indians.

Class A

1/21/16 – Freeport 3, Bishop McCort 2 (OT) … The Yellowjackets (12-4-1) went up 2-0 on goals by Stone Haberstroh at 5:07 of the first period and Michael Frazetta on the power play at 4:54 of the second. Trent Karalfa got the Crimson Crushers (11-4-1) on the board jut 1:46 later, and Connor Bunn tied the game at the 16:20 mark. A scoreless third set the stage for the overtime heroics as Frazetta set up Haberstroh for the second time on the night midway through the extra session. McCort outshot Freeport 31-26 with Matt Huston making 29 saves to earn the victory.

Division 2

1/18/16 – Carrick 6, Kennedy Catholic 5 … We generally try to avoid featuring any program both a game recap and preview, but this was by far the best game of the past week in Division 2, so fans of Kennedy Catholic (5-10-0) get a double dose even though they came out on the wrong end here against Carrick (13-3-0). The Golden Eagles took the first period 2-1 and also edged out the third 3-2, but it was the Cougars controlling the second stanza 3-0 which made the difference. William Piacitelli scored three of his four goals for Kennedy in the third period, with the last one tying the game 5-5 with 2:56 to play. However, Liam Rubright buried the winner for Carrick at the 15:57 mark. Piacitelli ended up with five points (4 G, 1 PP, 1 SH, 1 A) while Darrin Smith (1 G, 2 A) and Max Hamilton (3 A) each had three. Jacob Speicher paced the winning side with a hat trick, including a power play goal. Rubright (1 G, 1 A), Isaac Eubanks (1 G, 1 A), and Tyler Wolf (2 A) put up two points apiece. The Cougars doubled up their opponent in shots 42-21.

UPCOMING MSA BROADCASTS

1/25/16 – Class A – South Fayette Lions vs. Montour Spartans @ RMU Sports Complex … South Fayette (11-3-1) is unbeaten in four straight contests while ranking fifth in the class with 50 goals allowed. Montour (14-1-1) is tied for the longest current unbeaten streak in the league at 11 games while pacing the class with 123 goals for and 36 allowed. The Lions boast a trio of 30-point scorers headlined by Jordan Timmons (18 G, 5 PP, 3 GW, 13 A) with an average of 5.17 point in only six appearances. Kyle Sharp (10-3-1, 3.57 GAA, 0.859 SV%, 1 SO) has earned all but one decision between the pipes. Meanwhile, the Spartans feature a quartet of 30-point guys led by Brandon Eisel (20 G, 1 PP, 2 SH,2 GW, 17 A). Both members of their goaltending duo have found success, but only Arn Criswell (9-0-1, 2.18 GAA, 0.889 SV%, 1 SO) has remained unbeaten. Montour took the previous meeting by a comfy 7-1 margin on October 16. The puck drops at 9:10 PM with Steve Nagler and Lee Mohn on the call.

1/28/16 – Division 2 – Kennedy Catholic Golden Eagles vs. Trinity Hillers @ Ice-O-Plex at South Pointe … The Golden Eagles (5-10-0) had won four in a row before dropping their last two outings. The Hillers (4-9-1) have also lost back-to-back games, part of a 2-3-0 trend. Kennedy has gotten most of its offense from William Piacitelli (20 G, 4 PP, 2 SH,4 GW, 10 A). Meanwhile, Trinity has gotten at least one goal from 13 different players with Aaron Cowden (4 G, 1 PP, 1 GW, 5 A) leading the way in points. The Hillers dominated the previous meeting with a 6-1 victory on October 20. The puck drops at 9:20 PM with Bob Orkwis and Gero Von Dahn on the call.

1/31/16 – 2016 PIHL ALL-STAR GAMES @ Beaver Ice Arena:

Division II All-Stars at 1:00 PM (Mike Azadian and Cory Campano)

Class A All-Stars at 3:00 PM (Gero Von Dahn and Adam Hoerner)

Class AA All-Stars at 5:00 PM (Bob Orkwis and Kevin Zielmanski)

Class AAA All-Stars at 7:00 PM (Steve Nagler and Rob Longo)

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 Kevin Zielmanski host another episode of “The PIHL Power Play” this Wednesday night at 8:00. Joining us this week will be Carrick goaltender Nathan Norkevicus and Hampton head coach Matt Ranallo. Your home for the 2016 Penguins Cup Playoffs is the MSA Sports Network!