Burrell hockey eyes payback against Connellsville in PIHL Division II semifinals
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Sunday, March 10, 2019 | 9:19 PM
Burrell’s Tyler Stewart celebrates his first goal of the game with teammates during a PIHL first round playoff against Trinity Monday, Mar. 4, 2019, at Pittsburgh Ice Arena.
A month ago, the Burrell hockey team skated into Connellsville looking to wrap up an undefeated regular season. Instead, the Bucs got a reminder of what could happen if they don’t play what coach Max Rickard calls “the Burrell way.”
The Falcons frustrated the Bucs on Feb. 12 and put an end to their perfect season bid with a 6-1 win.
The Bucs expect to be challenged again when the two teams face off at 7:15 p.m. Monday at RMU Island Sports Center with a berth in the PIHL Division II final on the line.
“The entire season, we tried to tell ourselves that we weren’t indestructible, but (the Connellsville) game was a wake-up call that we really aren’t indestructible and that anyone can win in on any given night,” Bucs goalie Drew Burkett said. “They just got under our skin and got us playing a way that we didn’t want to play. We took some dumb penalties, and they capitalized on them. They were the better team that night.”
The top-seeded Bucs (20-1) eased past Trinity 10-2 in the first round and No. 4 Connellsville (16-3) cruised to a 7-2 win over Carrick. Monday’s winner advances to play either Neshannock or Ringgold in the Division II final next Monday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry.
The Bucs are seeking a second consecutive trip to the final. Both teams are seeking their first title.
Burrell tamed the Falcons 7-2 in their first regular-season meeting at their home rink, Pittsburgh Ice Arena, on Dec. 3, but fell into a hole early in the second meeting and didn’t recover.
Connellsville’s Gregory Hensh scored a natural hat trick in the win over Burrell. Hensh has 21 goals this season, second only to Ryan Brown, who had 36 goals and 63 points. Brown finished second in the regular-season scoring race to Burrell’s Tyler Stewart, who had 76 points.
“They’re a good team, and we think (Connellsville) coach (Ray) Brown is one of the few coaches, at least in Division II, that can outcoach another team,” Rickard said. “They show that with matching line changes. They tried to do that in the first meeting at Pittsburgh Ice Arena, but we had last change at home, so we took advantage of that. When we played them at their barn, they took advantage of having the last change.”
As the higher seed, Burrell will have the last change prior to faceoffs Monday.
Connellsville also used its home rink to its advantage in the second meeting. Rickard said The Ice Mine, where Connellsville plays, was designed for figure skating and is larger than a normal hockey rink.
“You don’t want to blame one person or one thing, but their rink isn’t an NHL or regulation-sized ice rink,” Rickard said. “It’s a figure skating rink, and they put boards around it. I know some coaches from other teams, and nobody likes playing there. They practice and play 10 games a year there, so they know how to use it to their advantage. I don’t fault them for that, because I would do the same thing. It’s just a tough place to play, and everyone in the league knows it.”
The Bucs won’t have to worry about rink sizes Monday, but they respect their opponent and expect a tough test.
“I think it’ll be a great game,” Burrell forward Dylan Zelonka said. “I actually think both semifinals will be good games. The top few teams are really competitive and I think any one of them has a chance to win it.”
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