In a very different rematch, Franklin Regional hockey tops Norwin again
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Monday, January 8, 2024 | 10:39 PM
Norwin’s Dom Costantino (16) battles Franklin Regional’s Marc Gray (77) for the puck Monday night.
Norwin’s Alex Thomas battles Franklin Regional’s Liam Copeland (18) for the puck during the first period Monday night.
Franklin Regional senior Max Rutkowski (55) skates past Norwin’s Colin Czekaj (42) on Monday night.
Norwin’s Joey Vecchio (88) is stopped by Franklin Regional goaltender Grant Notovny during the first period Monday night.
When Franklin Regional and Norwin battled on the ice Nov. 14, the Knights were short-handed and the Panthers breezed to an easy victory.
In Monday’s PIHL Class 2A rematch, the game was a lot different.
Franklin Regional (8-6) rallied from an early two-goal deficit to defeat Norwin, 6-4, in a game that ended with 2:37 left because of the curfew clock.
The Panthers won the first meeting 12-0. The Knights were missing numerous starters because of illness and injuries.
On Monday, the Knights (7-7) came out with fire and grabbed a 2-0 lead on goals by leading scorer Alex Thomas, who missed the first meeting. Thomas has 25 goals and 15 assists this season.
“We knew this game would be a lot different,” Franklin Regional coach John Winebrenner said. “We made some defensive changes against him. Our goal is to win out and we’re going to do that by playing better defense.”
Franklin Regional goaltender Grant Novotny made a big save against Thomas on a breakaway late in the first period.
The Panthers offense then came alive in the second period by getting four consecutive goals from Casey Schraeder, Jackson Falkner, Brendan Yohe and Max Rutkowski.
The Knights got a power-play goal late in the second period and had the man-advantage early in the third period when the Panthers’ Luke Anderchak struck with a short-handed goal.
But the Knights wouldn’t quit. Dom Cerilli chipped in a shot past Novotny to make it 5-4 and then Thomas hit the post, which would have tied the score.
Rutkowski then iced the win with his second goal of the game.
“Luke’s goal was huge,” Winebrenner said, “and Max’s goal iced it. I thought Max Williams played well all over the ice.”
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: Franklin Regional, Norwin
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