PIHL Notebook – 02/10/2014

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, February 10, 2014 | 2:36 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 recaps from a pair of MSA broadcasts along with a bit of an upset in Class AA. Last but not least, we round things out with a preview of three network games, with two section battles in Class AA and one in the Open Class. 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 (5-0-0)

Class AA: Erie Cathedral Prep (7-0-0); Bishop Canevin (5-0-0); North Hills (3-0-0); Armstrong (3-0-0); Plum (3-0-0)

Class A: Quaker Valley (11-0-0); Freeport (10-0-0); Mars (3-0-0)

Open Class: Baldwin (12-0-0); Harbor Creek (11-0-0); Morgantown (8-0-0) Indiana (6-0-0); Hempfield (6-0-0); Altoona (5-0-0); Peters Township (5-0-0)

SCOREBOARD WATCH:

Class AAA

2/4/14 – Section 2: North Allegheny 5-0-0=5, Seneca Valley 1-2-1=4

Shots on Goal: NA 26, SV 25

Game-Winner: Tyler Wilson PP (Dawson Richard, Gregory Fantaski) @ 16:43 of 1st

Three Stars: #3 Daniel Bostedo, NA (2 A); #2 Brendan MacFarlane, SV (2 G); #1 Andrew Gagnon, SV (2 G, 1 A)

2/4/14 – Non-Section: Penn-Trafford 2-1-1=4, Pittsburgh Central Catholic 1-2-0=3

Shots on Goal: PT 28, PC 23

Game-Winner: Michael Granata (Gary Scott) @ 2:13 of 3rd

Three Stars: #3 Jesse Yeckel, PC (2 A); #2 Jack Tepe, PC (1 G, 1 A); #1 Cameron Williams, PT (2 G)

2/6/14 – Non-Section: Mount Lebanon 4-6-3=13, Shaler 1-0-1=2 (MSA)

Shots on Goal: ML 36, SH 11

Game-Winner: Stephen Sramac (George Farrell, Christopher Westover) @ 8:24 of 1st

Three Stars: #3 Carl Nassar, ML (2 G, 1 PP, 2 A); #2 Farrell, ML (3 G, 1 PP, 3 A); #1 Sramac, ML (3 G, 1 PP, 1 SH, 5 A)

Class AA

2/6/14 – Non-Section: Armstrong 1-0-2=3, Latrobe 0-0-2=2

Shots on Goal: AR 25, LA 25

Game-Winner: Nicholas Long (Luke Gross, Joshua Oliver) @ 9:07 of 3rd

Three Stars: #3 Timothy Ruppen, LA (22 SV); #2 Taylor Smouse, AR (23 SV); #1 Oliver, AR (1 G, 2 A)

2/6/14 – Section 3: Erie Cathedral Prep 4-0-2=6, Hampton 0-1-2=3

Shots on Goal: EP 41, HA 19

Game-Winner: Brandon Gotkin PP (John Colvin) @ 14:16 of 1st

Three Stars: #3 Richard Vicary, EP (2 G); #2 Gotkin, EP (2 G, 1 PP); #1 Zachary Kosick, HA (3 G, 1 PP)

2/6/14 – Non-Section: North Hills 0-3-1=4, Chartiers Valley 0-0-2=2

Shots on Goal: NH 34, CV 26

Game-Winner: Tyler Volz PP (Brett Berner) @ 12:04 of 2nd

Three Stars: #3 Volz, NH (2 G, 1 PP); #2 Trenton Pelligreno, NH (24 SV); #1 Berner, NH (SHG, 3 A)

Class A

2/4/14 – Non-Section: Quaker Valley 2-1-1=4, Westmont Hilltop 0-0-1=1

Shots on Goal: QV 30, WH 26

Game-Winner: James Perkins SH (Connor Quinn) @ 8:11 of 1st

Three Stars: #3 Scott Weston, QV (2 G); #2 Quinn, QV (PPG, 2 A); #1 Parker Sherry, QV (25 SV)

2/6/14 – Section 1: Thomas Jefferson 2-1-3=6, South Park 1-0-0=1

Shots on Goal: TJ 30, SP 16

Game-Winner: Zach Uhlyar (Daniel Harrold) @ 10:52 of 1st

Three Stars: #3 Kirk Zandier, SP (PPG); #2 Nick Ripepi, TJ (15 SV); #1 Harrold, TJ (1 G, 2 A)

2/6/14 – Non-Section: Freeport 2-3-3=8, Serra Catholic 0-0-0=0

Shots on Goal: FR 58, SC 7

Game-Winner: Jared Kapustik (Hunter Kepple) @ 0:46 of 1st

Three Stars: #3 Nick Rusak & Kepple, FR (2 A each); #2 Michael Frazetta, FR (PPG, 2 A); #1 Kapustik, FR (3 G, 1 SH)

Open Class

2/3/14 – Section 1: Morgantown 3-0-3=6, John Marshall 2-0-1=3

Shots on Goal: JM 31, MO 26

Game-Winner: Nate Frisbee (Nathaniel Wheeler, Ben Taylor) @ 7:30 of 3rd

Three Stars: #3 Zachery McClure, JM (2 G); #2 Jacob Hough, MO (28 SV); #1 Kienan Battin & Frisbee, MO (2 G, 1 A each)

2/3/14 – Section 3: Altoona 1-4-1=6, Greensburg Central Catholic 2-1-2=5

Shots on Goal: AL 32, GC 27

Game-Winner: Jacob Russo SH (Unassisted) @ 6:22 of 3rd

Three Stars: #3 Trevor Hoover & Russo, AL (2 G, 1 A each); #2 Nicholas D’Onofrio, GC (1 G, 3 A); #1 Nicholas Benjamin, GC (4 G, 1 A)

2/6/14 – Non-Section: Wheeling Park 1-3-2=6, Blackhawk 1-2-2=5 (MSA)

Shots on Goal: WP 43, BL 38

Game-Winner: Michael Grove (Dalton Haas) @ 14:56 of 3rd

Three Stars: #3 Grove, WP (GWG, 1 A); #2 Grant Rombold, BL (1 G, 2 A); #1 Kyle Wensel, WP (2 G, 1 A)

UPCOMING MSA BROADCASTS

2/10/14 – Class AA – Section 1: Chartiers Valley Colts (10-8-0) vs. Bishop Canevin Crusaders (16-2-0) AT Mount Lebanon Ice Arena at 7:10pm (Adam Hoerner and Mike Azadian) … The Colts have struggled recently, winning only two of their last five and coming off back-to-back losses. Offense has not been the issue, with 94 goals ranking Chartiers Valley fourth in the class, led by two 50-point producers in Anthony Franks (24 G, 34 A) and Cullen McMahon (26 G, 25 A). Starting goaltender Alexander Chabala has put together 10 victories and three shutouts, but his 4.01 GAA shows the defense has been inconsistent. On the flip side, the Crusaders have won five in a row, ranking second in the class with 113 goals and first with 34 allowed. Randy Unger continues to key the offense with 21 goals and 40 assists while Nikita Meskin has played every minute between the pipes to post a 1.88 GAA, 0.921 save percentage and four shutouts. Bishop Canevin took the previous meeting by a 7-2 margin way back on November 4. Unger scored shorthanded and added four three helpers while Meskin made 24 saves. Alex Stevenson keyed the CV attack that night with two even-strength goals.

2/10/14 – Class AA – Section 3: Armstrong River Hawks (12-4-0) vs. Hampton Talbots (11-8-0) AT Pittsburgh Ice Connection in Valencia at 9:10pm (Josh Rowntree and Gero Von Dahn) … The River Hawks have won three straight and four of their last five, ranking third in the class with 96 goals and 58 allowed. Christian Miller (36 G, 10 PP, 13 A) and Hunter Grafton (17 G, 32 A) continue to play Batman and Robin while Taylor Smouse has accounted for all decisions in net, posting a 3.56 GAA and 0.850 save percentage. Meanwhile, the Talbots rank fifth among their peers with 89 goals scored and 63 allowed. It has been a struggle of late for Hampton, losing three of the last five and coming off back-to-back losses. Zach Kosick (23 G, 8 PP, 13 A) continues to be a bright spot offensively while Cam Raidna has seen the bulk of the goaltending work, going 11-7-0 with a 3.10 GAA, 0.889 save percentage and three shutouts. Hampton did take the previous meeting 4-3 on Halloween night with William Maguire matching Miller’s two-goal performance. Eric Leya netted the winner, but it was Raidna who really made the difference with 26 saves.

2/13/14 – Open Class – Section 2: Harbor Creek Huskies (16-1-0) vs. Blackhawk Cougars (11-6-0) AT Beaver Ice Arena at 6:45pm (Steve Nagler and Mike Azadian) … The Huskies have dominated the Nailers Cup bracket, winning 11 in a row while boasting the top offense (149 GF) and defense (29 GA). Harbor Creek features two 50-point getters and three with more than 20 goals, namely Logan Conboy (33 G, 26 A), Nick Rocco (25 G, 8 PP, 30 A) and Jamie Collins (23 G, 7 PP, 18 A). At the other end, iron man Tyler Manna has been stingy to the say the least in posting a 1.71 GAA, 0.915 save percentage and five shutouts. The Cougars may not have numbers quite that gaudy, but 109 goals places third in the bracket while 48 allowed ties them for fourth. Blackhawk is coming off a loss as you saw above, but won four straight leading up to that. Kyle Schaefer (21 G, 25 A) and Robert Swinderman (20 G, 17 A) lead the offense while Cory Steinle has been the lead backstop with a 7-2-0 mark, 2.44 GAA, 0.907 save percentage and two shutouts. It was Blackhawk which handed Harbor Creek its only loss by a 6-3 margin on November 25. Conboy scored twice, but Steinle made 42 saves while Swinderman (2 G, 3 A) and Schaefer (1 G, 3 A) keyed the attack. The Huskies got revenge by the same final on January 9 to set up the rubber match here. Conboy got the winner, part of a two-point night, while Jamie Collins chipped in two goals, one on the power play, and Ryan Markiewicz contributed three points (2 G, 1 A) to the victory.

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 Jess Bartholow, Peters Township head coach Rick Tingle and West Allegheny bench boss Tim Veach. Your home for the 2014 Penguins Cup Playoffs is the MSA Sports Network!