High school roundup for March 6, 2023: Upper St. Clair upsets No. 2 Central Catholic in Penguins Cup quarterfinals

By: Tribune-Review
Monday, March 6, 2023 | 11:10 PM

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Upper St. Clair jumped out to a three-goal lead over No. 2 Central Catholic on Monday night in the PIHL Class 3A quarterfinals and didn’t let up the rest of the en route to a 6-2 upset victory at Alpha Ice Complex.

Aaron Stawiarski had three goals and two assists, and Colin Ruffner had a goal and two assists for the No. 6 Panthers (12-8-1).

George Garces and Gregory Timmons also scored, and Louis Liberatore made 23 saves for Upper St. Clair, which will play Pine-Richland in the semifinals at 9:15 p.m. March 13, at Robert Morris Island Sports Center.

Josh Moline and Evan Benscoter scored for Central Catholic (14-6-1).

Class 3A

North Allegheny 3, Cathedral Prep 0 — Marc Joyson, Luke Walkauskas and Lorenzo Colaizzi scored to help No. 4 North Allegheny earn a PIHL Class 3A Penguins Cup quarterfinal win over Cathedral Prep at Baierl Ice Complex.

Rylan Murphy made 26 saves to secure the shutout for the Tigers (13-5-3), who will play the winner of Peters Township and Mt. Lebanon in the semifinals March 13, at Robert Morris Island Sports Center.

Pine-Richland 2, Seneca Valley 1 — Ryan Peacock and Shawn Peacock scored to lift No. 6 Pine-Richland to a PIHL Class 3A Penguins Cup quarterfinal win over No. 3 Seneca Valley at Baierl Ice Complex.

Zachary Howard had a pair of assists, and Daniel Mooney made 19 saves for the Rams (12-8-1).

Jaxson Read scored, and Johnathan Nichols made 23 saves for Seneca Valley, which finished its season 14-6-1.

Class 2A

Thomas Jefferson 5, Penn-Trafford 1 — Ryder McGuirk had a goal and three assists as Thomas Jefferson (13-8) rolled to a PIHL Class 2A Penguins Cup quarterfinal victory over No. 4 Penn-Trafford at Palmer Imaging Arena in Delmont.

Ryan Galis, Jake Stock, Andrew Oliver and Scott Allan also scored, and Aidan Dougherty made 31 saves for TJ.

Bryce Kropczynski scored a power-play goal off an assist from Josh Goldberg in the third period for the No. 4 Warriors, who finished the season 13-8.

Jackson Kerrigan made 19 saves for Penn-Trafford.

Thomas Jefferson will play the winner of Armstrong and Hempfield in the semifinals March 14, at Robert Morris Island Sports Center.

South Fayette 3, Franklin Regional 2 — Owen Chiappetta tapped home a rebound with 1:17 left to give No. 2 South Fayette a PIHL Class 2A quarterfinal win over No. 7 Franklin Regional, at Mt. Lebanon Ice Arena.

Brady Fleck and Dylan Walsh had assists on the winning goal for the Lions (16-3-2).

Franklin Regional finished its season 11-9-1.

Division II

Bishop Canevin 4, Morgantown 0 — In the Division II quarterfinals, Ryan Saginaw had two goals and two assists, and Ty Serakowski added a goal and two assists as top-seeded Bishop Canevin beat Morgantown at Ice Castle.

Michael Parzynski also scored, and Dom Frizzi made 15 saves to secure the shutout for the Crusaders (18-1).