Indiana Takes Down Unbeaten Carrick For First PIHL Division 2 Championship

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, March 20, 2015 | 1:31 AM

Someone should really stop calling Indiana “Little.”

In a massively tenacious defensive effort, the Indiana Little Indians (16-5-1) used a physical trap and special teams to grab a 5-2 win over Carrick (23-1-0) in the PIHL Division 2 Championship Game on Thursday night at Robert Morris University’s Island Sports Center.

T.J. Petro’s shorthanded goal at 10:59 of the second period evened the game at 2-2 and swung momentum to the Little Indians, who scored the final four goals of the game, claiming their first Division 2 (previously the Open Classification) Championship in program history.

“It was a special teams game,” said Indiana coach Dom Glavich, alluding to Petro’s shorthanded goal and two power play goals that the Little Indians scored on the night. “That’s a little scary, because I thought (Carrick) were stronger in the special teams. But we just did a lot of little things and made smart plays.”

The game started with a rough and penalty-filled first period that featured eleven penalties, a 10-minute misconduct and three goals. Indiana’s leading scorer, Luke Lewandowski, opened the scoring by jamming an Ethan Boyer pass into the net on a 5-on-3 power play at 10:05 of the opening frame.

But, just over five minutes later, Carrick’s leading scorer, Anthony Manuel, would respond in a big way, scoring two goals in just 41 seconds. Manuel’s first goal, a breakaway snipe, was assisted by his brother, Nick Manuel. The second, which was on the power play, was a rebound goal the came off of a Jacob Speicher shot.

Unfortunately for Carrick, those two goals would be all that they would muster. Indiana would dominate play in the second period, out-shooting Carrick 22-9 in the frame and scoring a pair of goals.

Petro’s shorthanded goal was first and, perhaps, the most important goal of Indiana’s season. With a chance for Carrick to go up 3-1 on a power play, Petro would intercept a shot attempt and go coast-to-coast, beating Cougars goalie Nathan Norkevicus and evening the game at 2-2. Under four minutes later, Indiana’s Tyler Barker would hammer in a power play goal from the slot on a terrific behind-the-net pass from Matt Swatsworth, giving the Little Indians the eventual game-winning goal.

Carrick, which was trying to become the first PIHL team to finish the season without a loss or tie since Latrobe in 2009, would struggle to get quality scoring chances in the third period, despite out-shooting Indiana 18-6. The Cougars, who outscored teams 230-27 coming into the game, were just 1-of-7 on the man advantage.

“We just never got to our game,” said Carrick head coach Matt Maurice. “We got frustrated and tried to do too much. We just had an off night. And (Indiana) were relentless.”

In the third period, it would be Indiana’s Patrick O’Neal who would twice find the back of the net. The first goal was on a terrific individual effort in which O’Neal, who scored four goals in three playoff games, stole the puck, finessed around a pair of Cougars defenders and snapped a wrist shot by Norkevicus at the 7:59 mark. The second, in similar fashion, was set up off of a steal on the forecheck, this time by Barker, who found O’Neal for the empty net goal.

The win for Indiana, which lost the Open Cup Championship in 2012, is a sweet one coming off of the heels of the boys basketball team’s WPIAL Championship victory less than three weeks ago.

“It’s all about keeping our tradition going,” said Glavich. “We have rich tradition of winning and sportsmanship in Indiana. It’s about the logo on the sweater, which represents the tradition and pride of Indiana.”

Score By Period:
Indiana: 1-2-2=5
Carrick: 2-0-0=2

Shots:
Indiana: 42
Carrick: 36

Bladerunners Scoring Summary:

First Period:
Indiana – Luke Lewandowski (power play) (Ethan Boyer, Andrew Roth), 10:05
Carrick – Anthony Manuel (Nick Manuel), 15:14
Carrick – Anthony Manuel (2) (power play) (Jacob Speicher, James Unger), 15:55

Second Period:
Indiana – T.J. Petro (shorthanded) (unassisted), 10:59
Indiana – Tyler Barker (power play) (Matt Swatsworth, Ethan Boyer), 14:34

3rd Period:
Indiana – Patrick O’Neal (unassisted), 7:59
Indiana – Patrick O’Neal (2) (empty net) ( Tyler Barker), 14:36

Goaltenders:
Indiana: Zane McElheney (36 shots, 34 saves)(16-5-2)
Carrick: Nathan Norkevicus (41 shots, 37 saves)(11-1-0)

Power Plays:
Indiana: 2 of 4
Carrick: 1 of 7

Management Science Associates Three Stars of the Game:
1. Patrick O’Neal (Indiana) – 2 goals
2. Zane McElheney (Indiana) – 34 saves
3. Anthony Manuel (Carrick) – 2 goals

Mount Lebanon Ice Arena Play of the Game:
T.J. Petro’s shorthanded goal at 10:59 of the second period.