Burrell captures inaugural Division 2 Pennsylvania Challenge Cup

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, March 22, 2025 | 1:38 PM

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Burrell forward Luke Mink still feels the disappointment of not lifting a PIHL championship trophy. But the Buccaneers channeled their pent-up anger into performing well during the inaugural Division 2 Pennsylvania Challenge Cup on Saturday at RMU Island Sports Center.

Mink scored two goals in the first period to help the Buccaneers pick up an 8-3 win over the Pope John Paul II Patriots. Burrell missed out on a chance to win the PIHL championship for the first time when it lost to Morgantown (W.Va.), 5-1, on Tuesday. Because Morgantown is not located in Pennsylvania, it was not eligible for the Pennsylvania Challenge Cup game.

“We were mad about that loss and came out flying,” Mink said. “We were physical. We knew we needed good momentum to go to nationals.”

In addition to Burrell, the Bucs have players from Valley, Highlands, Penn Hills and Riverview.

The Patriots (16-3-1) were the champions of the Inter County Scholastic Hockey League. Pope John coach Tom Puhl said the Patriots gained valuable experience on how to approach a long trip.

Some members of their team got up as early as 1 a.m. and drove in from Montgomery County.

“It was a great opportunity,” Puhl said. “The kids enjoyed it. We gained a little experience on the protocol here. We had some of the kids drive up (this morning) and they may have hurt us this game. Moving forward, hopefully, we look to be back in this situation last year.”

Pope John looked like it was skating in sand early on. The Bucs made sure to make them pay. Burrell (18-2-1-1-1) scored nine minutes into the first period on a shot by Fink. It was the start of a strong run from the Buccaneers.

Mink scored again four minutes later to double the lead.

“I felt like we just kept putting pressure on them,” Mink said. “We kept staying through to our forecheck and using the 1-2-2. We were always on them. They couldn’t get out of their zone, and we just kept working them all day.”

Though Burrell finished below its typical output, the Bucs held a 32-25 edge in shots on goal. Burrell also scored opportune goals.

Julian Kemp scored in the last minute of the first period, and Jared Wall got the puck on a breakaway just 96 seconds to the second period and chipped in a shot to stretch the lead to 4-0.

Wall, a Valley student, said he was a little surprised by the hot start.

“I mean, we had a good start,” said Wall, who scored twice. “We had a really good start, and they obviously kept pushing, so we had to keep pushing and we gotta keep bringing it the rest of the game. Couldn’t let up.”

The Patriots eventually found their legs. Pope John cut the deficit to 5-3 when Jack Simonic got in on net and snapped in a wrist shot. For the next nine minutes, the Patriots applied heavy pressure.

However, Dante Taliani scored two goals 20 seconds apart for Burrell to stretch the lead to 7-3 and put the game away. Michael Conneen led Pope John with two goals.

“I felt at that point, we had a strong chance of tying the game,” Puhl said. “We all knew that sixth goal would be a killer.”

Taliani finished with a game-high five points as he contributed three assists. Ryan Burkett and Aaron Holm handed out three and two assists, respectively, for the Buccaneers.

Wall said this was a good boost before Burrell heads to nationals.

“It’s great to win this because the Pens Cup was obviously disappointing,” Wall said. “We knew we had to bring our game today. It was very exciting to win ourselves a trophy.”

Class A

Garnet Valley 7, Avonworth 2 — Nolan Stott and Kevin Walton each had two goals to lead Flyers Cup champion Garnet Valley past Penguins Cup champion Avonworth in the Class A Pennsylvania Cup final at RMU Island Sports Center.

Cooper Powell and Austin Dzadovsky scored, and Conner Ralson had an assist for Avonworth.

Class 2A

North Penn 4, Cathedral Prep 1 — Samuel Norton had a goal and two assists to pace Flyers Cup champion North Penn in a Class 2A Pennsylvania Cup championship victory. Tucker Kinnear scored for Cathedral Prep, the Penguins Cup champion.

Tags: Avonworth, Burrell, Seneca Valley