Burrell blasts past rival Deer Lakes in 3rd period to reach PIHL Division 2 finals

By: Josh Rizzo
Thursday, March 13, 2025 | 11:28 PM

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Jacob Rose lit the fire to the Burrell hockey team’s goal barrage 16 seconds into the third period.

Once Rose’s breakaway effort found the back of the net, there was little Deer Lakes could do to wrestle back the momentum Thursday night at the RMU Island Sports Center.

Julian Kemp set up Rose to score the goal that sparked Burrell to a 5-2 win in the PIHL Division 2 semifinals.

“I just wanted to score one tonight,” Rose said. “I feel Kemp could make it happen with how fast he passes the puck.

Burrell will play top-seeded Morgantown in the championship game at 8:45 p.m. Tuesday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

Burrell beat Morgantown, 6-5, on Oct. 10 in their only regular-season meeting.

Morgantown knocked off Neshannock, 9-4, in the other semifinal.

Burrell, which is seeded second, lost in the championship game to Neshannock last season.

“I’m trying to get the people who lost last year the championship they deserve,” Rose said.

It was a tough loss for Deer Lakes, which has been ousted in the semifinals for three straight seasons.

“I think the team earned every minute,” Lancers coach Ty Ulanowicz said. “I think we could have earned a place in the championship. That’s not the way hockey happens. They worked hard to get where they were today.”

The Lancers (15-6) hardly had a chance to get their bearings before Burrell took the lead. Ryan Burkett found the first goal just 83 seconds into the game. The Lancers, however, bounced back quickly.

Mason Cervone fired a shot while charging at the net that slid past Bucs netminder Kooper Price. The Lancers, who lost two of three matchups with Burrell during the regular season, weren’t able to hold off the Bucs’ constant and sustained pressure.

Deer Lakes wasn’t even safe when it was up a man. Burrell took the lead for good, 2-1, when forward Mike Morascyzk scored a short-handed goal with four seconds left in the first period.

“It really showed we were the better team,” Burrell coach Drew Burkett said. “We had a lot more speed coming out.”

Burrell finished with a 49-18 edge in shots on goal. Lancers goalie Nikita Oleksiienko finished with 44 saves.

Carter Catalano scored the other goal for Deer Lakes.

“We learned they have a good goalie,” Morascyzk said. “I think we have a better team overall. We ran our system, got pucks deep, and we learned a lot from playing them this year. We held them to under 20 shots and got the win.”

Rose’s goal foreshadowed the offensive outburst to come from Burrell. Luke Mike scored on a power play nearly five minutes after Rose to stretch the lead to 4-1. Morascyzk then added his second goal two minutes later to put Burrell up four.

“It was an amazing goal,” Morascyzk said. “I’m proud of how far he’s come. He’s a great linemate.”

Cooper Cox had a hat trick and a five-point night to lead Morgantown past Neshannock in the first game.

John DiBartolomeo also had five points with a goal and four assists. Jacob Hollander added a goal and three assists and Dom Petrucci scored twice. Z Telesz had a pair of goals for Neshannock.

Tags: Burrell, Deer Lakes, Neshannock