Burrell hockey team out to make program history in championship game

By: Jerin Steele
Sunday, March 17, 2024 | 5:34 PM

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Burrell finished one spot ahead of Neshannock in the PIHL Division 2 standings, but the Lancers have loads of championship experience.

They are looking for their third championship in the past four years.

The Bucs are looking for their first, and they know they will have to earn it when the puck drops for the D2 championship at 8:45 p.m. Monday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

“They’re big and physical and they play that way, so we need to make sure we play our game against them,” Bucs coach Luke Kopchak said. “That’s the main focus for us. It really doesn’t matter what position they are in (going into the playoffs). They always seem to find a way.”

Burrell and Neshannock split their regular-season meetings.

Neshannock took the first one 6-5 on Oct. 30. Brian McConahy had a hat trick, and Gio Valentine registered a goal and two assists for the Lancers. Mike Morazczyk and John Lukac scored two goals each for Burrell.

Burrell won the rematch 7-3 on Dec. 11. Aidan Petroff had three goals and an assist to pace the Bucs.

Petroff scored short-handed twice in the second period to pace Burrell in a 5-2 win over rival Deer Lakes in the semifinals Thursday.

Valentine has five goals in the playoffs, including a hat trick in Neshannock’s 8-5 win over top-seed Bishop Canevin in the semifinals. He has been a proven postseason performer throughout his career. Valentine scored the winning goal in the Lancers’ 2-1 win over Bishop Canevin in the 2022 D2 title game.

He will be a major focal point for a Neshannock team that has the size to play a physical game.

“They play a lot like Deer Lakes in that they play the body,” Petroff said. “They’re going to try and get in our heads, but if we play our game, I think we’ll be just fine.”

The Bucs are in the D2 final for the first time since high-scoring forward Tyler Stewart led them there in back-to-back years in 2018 and ’19. The Bucs lost to Moon, 7-4, in ’18 and Ringgold, 4-3, the next year.

There’s an opportunity to break through, and Petroff would love to see his team make history.

“It’d be awesome,” Petroff said. “We’ve come so close before, so it’d feel great to finally get across that finish line.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

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