Fox Chapel gets past Penn-Trafford, heads to final in search of school’s 1st Penguins Cup

By: Paul Schofield
Tuesday, March 11, 2025 | 10:18 PM

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Sometimes all you need is a bounce.

Fox Chapel got that midway through the third period Tuesday to earn a trip to the PIHL Class 2A Penguins Cup final.

Hayden Ferra happened to be at the right spot at the right time. After teammate Lian Wiseman dumped the puck behind the net, the Penn-Trafford defense whipped the puck blindly to the stick of Ferra, who buried it into a wide-open net with 7 minutes, 24 seconds left.

After that, Fox Chapel goaltender Grant Watson had a few big saves, and the Foxes killed off a penalty with 4:02 left and advanced to the final with a 3-2 victory Tuesday at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center.

They will play Erie Cathedral Prep at 6:15 p.m. March 18 at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry. Fox Chapel has never won the Pens Cup title. It was in the 2023 Class A final and lost to Kiski Area.

Fox Chapel coach Ryan Loebig was an assistant coach that year, and he reminds the team that the school has yet to win a Pens Cup.

He hopes this is the year.

“We bent but did not break,” Loebig said. “Penn-Trafford brought it, and we just hung in there. We got some good bounces and were able to capitalize on them. Grant also made a lot of great saves. He’s playing with a lot of confidence.”

It did not take too much time for Fox Chapel to take a 1-0 lead 2:43 into the game.

Dominic Casile scored from the right circle on assists from Tucker Cullen and Trip Goehring.

Penn-Trafford answered as sophomore Brock Bienemann picked up a loose puck behind the net and chipped it past Watson 6:54 into the first period.

The Warriors grabbed a 2-1 lead when Marco Ferraccio got the puck past Watson at the 11:06 mark. Both Warriors goals were unassisted.

Penn-Trafford had a couple of good scoring chances but was stoned by Watson.

“I’d hate to say a bad bounce cost us because Fox Chapel played an outstanding game,” Penn-Trafford coach Brian Zagorac said. “We just did not capitalize on our opportunities. I wish some of our chances would have gone in.”

But Fox Chapel, which outshot the Warriors, 15-10, in the opening period, got the equalizer when Casile beat Penn-Trafford goaltender Tyler Funk at the 13:09 mark.

Neither team scored in the second period thanks to some big saves by the goalies.

Penn-Trafford was 0 for 2 on the power play in the second period.

“We never backed down from them when they took the lead,” Zagorac said. “It was a street fight. I was proud of their effort.

Fox Chapel, the top seed, defeated Penn-Trafford twice during the season: 4-1 on Nov. 21 and 3-2 on Feb. 17.

“This is exciting,” Loebig said. “Some of the guys who played two years ago want to reverse the outcome.”

Erie Cathedral Prep 2, Latrobe 0

Erie Cathedral Prep advanced to the PIHL Class 2A Pens Cup finals by defeating Latrobe, 2-0.

Erie Prep took a 1-0 lead at 4:45 mark of the first period when Ethan Cunningham snapped a shot past Latrobe goalie Brock Pflugh.

Late in the second period, the Ramblers made it 2-0 when Chris Bruschi scored on a rebound during a power play with 11 seconds left in the period.

Latrobe was 0 for 5 on the power play thanks to a strong defensive effort from the Prep defense and goaltender Ian Brown, who stopped numerous point-blank shots.

Erie Prep took both meetings during the regular season, winning 4-2 on Oct. 3 and 6-3 on Oct. 29.

After the second loss, the Icecats won 11 consecutive games.

Fox Chapel beat Erie Prep in both of their meetings this season. The Foxes won 4-2 on Nov. 26 and 3-1 on Jan. 20.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Fox Chapel, Penn-Trafford