A-K Valley PIHL playoff preview capsules

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, March 4, 2018 | 7:34 PM

Monday's games

First round

Class A

No. 9 Fox Chapel (11-7-1-1) vs. No. 8 Sewickley Academy (13-7)

8:30 p.m. Monday at RMU Island Sports Center in Coraopolis

Winner plays: No. 1 Bishop McCort, 7:15 p.m. Thursday at 1st Summit Arena in Johnstown

One-timers: Fox Chapel, which went winless in 2016-17 in Class AA, went 5-1 down the stretch. The Foxes have lost one game in regulation since Dec. 11. Chase Villani, the Foxes leading scorer, finished fourth in Class A in points with 56 and fifth in goals with 30. Shane Krhovsky was seventh in scoring with 46 points. … Sewickley Academy went 4-0 to close this season. Michael Hertzberg leads the Panthers with 25 goals and 36 points. Matthew Hajdukiewicz has 33 points. Panthers goalie Cole Luther had a .912 save percentage, tops in Class A for goalies with 10 or more starts.

Division II

No. 3 Burrell (13-5) vs. No. 6 Kennedy Catholic (8-8-1-1)

9 p.m. Monday at Pittsburgh Ice Arena in New Kensington

Winner plays: No. 2 Ringgold/No. 7 Trinity, 9:15 p.m. March 12 at RMU Island Sports Center

One-timers: Burrell, which is in the playoffs for a second consecutive year, scored a Division II- best 101 goals this year, 19 more than any other team. Tyler Stewart led the PIHL with 67 points and averaged 4 goals per game. Dylan Zelonka was third in Division II scoring with 41 points, and defenseman Bryce Schueler had 24 points. Burrell had the top power play in the division, clicking at 21.4 percent. … Kennedy Catholic topped Burrell 4-3 in the regular-season finale, earning a split on the season. Darrin Smith led the Eagles with 10 goals and 20 points. Eagles Goalie Carsen Burkhart had a .913 save percentage.

—Jerin Steele

Tags: Burrell, Fox Chapel, Sewickley Academy