PIHL notebook: Season heading into final month with playoff berths up for grabs

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, January 21, 2018 | 10:21 PM

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With a little more than one month remaining in the PIHL regular season, many teams have clinched a playoff bid, and others are playing just to stay in the postseason picture. This week featured a notable winning streak coming to an end, a key Class AAA matchup on the horizon and the All-Star games on deck.

Winning streaks

Class AAA: Seneca Valley (three games): The Raiders slowly have ascended the standings to second place thanks to their three-game surge. With 19 points in 12 contests, Seneca Valley trails only Peters Township for the top spot in Class AAA. The Raiders, who have allowed league-low 20 goals, hold victories over Butler, North Allegheny and Bethel Park this month. Next up, the Raiders have a showdown with Peters Township on Monday with a share of first place on the line.

Class AA: Penn-Trafford (four games): The lengthy streak of Armstrong was snapped last week, which means that the Warriors hold the distinction in Class AA. Penn-Trafford has looked like a different team since the holiday break, going undefeated in their four contests in 2018. With victories against Shaler, Pine-Richland, Franklin Regional and Hempfield, the Warriors have moved into the playoff picture. Their 16 points are tied with Upper St. Clair for fourth in the South/East Division. Penn-Trafford returns to home ice Thursday for a matchup with first-place Armstrong.

Class A: Bishop McCort (15 games): The Crimson Crushers are one of two remaining unbeaten teams in Class A. Meadville, also unblemished, has played two fewer games than Bishop McCort. The Crushers, who are plus-61 in goal differential, edged Westmont Hilltop, 2-1, in overtime last Tuesday. Bishop McCort faces another test Tuesday when it hosts Sewickley Academy.

Division 2: Ringgold (two games): The Rams are the only team of the 10 in the classification who hold an active winning streak. Ringgold, which is in second place with 20 points, notched a decisive 5-1 victory against Carrick last Monday and blasted Morgantown, 7-1, on Jan. 11. Next for Ringgold is a Monday showdown at first-place Moon.

Team spotlight

North Allegheny: It seems like the Tigers are a title contender every season, and 2017-18 is no exception. With a mark of 8-4-2-0, North Allegheny is in third in Class AAA. While the Tigers are in the middle of the pack with 44 goals scored, they have allowed just 34 goals.

Although the Tigers suffered a 4-3 loss to Butler in their last game, they scored a decisive 5-1 triumph against Peters Township prior to that. The Tigers are just 2-2-1-0 in their past five games, however.

Aaron Miller has led the charge with 14 goals, by far the best mark on the team. In fact, Miller has more goals than any of his teammates have points. Aside from Miller's 17 points, three other Tigers have reached double figures in scoring: Will Parraguirre, Haden Shimko and defenseman Bernardo Vieira have 12 points each.

The Tigers have used a timeshare in net, as Ryan Heil and Richard Karapandi have played in seven contests each. Karapandi has produced slightly better numbers (5-2, 2.13 goals against average, .912 save percentage. Heil is 3-4, 2.56 and .906 but has a shutout.

Michael Bagnato's team has four games remaining in the regular season, three of which will be played at home ice at Baierl Ice Complex. The Tigers will host Plum, Cathedral Prep and Seneca Valley, in addition to a road contest against Canon-McMillan.

Upcoming video broadcasts

This week on TribLive High School Sports Network:

Monday: Seneca Valley vs Peters Township at 9 p.m. at Baierl Ice Complex in Warrendale, with Josh Rowntree and Sean Saputo on commentary, and Chelsea Rowntree filming. The Class AAA showdown features the hottest team in the classification against the team that has been atop the standings for almost the entire season.

Winners of three in a row, the Raiders carry plenty of momentum in the game. The defending champion Indians have a Class AAA-best plus-24 goal differential. The first meeting between the teams occurred Nov. 21, when Seneca Valley notched a 3-2 shootout win. The Indians led twice in the contest, courtesy of goals by Torrey Schwartz and Nicholas Young, but Marshall Maier netted the equalizer for Seneca Valley to force overtime, and the Raiders ultimately prevailed.

Despite the final score, both netminders faced a barrage of shots. Peters Township's Alex Wilbert made 35 saves, and Seneca Valley's Logan Johnson made 44 stops.

Wednesday: The PIHL Power Play Show airs at 8 p.m., featuing player andn coach spotlights as well as discussion about the league.

Sunday: PIHL All-Stars were announced last week, and the quartet of all-star games will take place Sunday at Robert Morris Island Sports Complex. The TribLive High School Sports Network will have video broadcasts of all the games, with the Division 2 contest scheduled to begin at 10:45 a.m., followed by Class A at 12:45 p.m., Class AA at 2:45 p.m. and Class AAA at 4:45 p.m.

Sean Meyers is a freelance writer.