Kiski Area hockey beats North Hills in PIHL Penguins Cup quarterfinals

By: Michael Love
Monday, March 6, 2023 | 10:36 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Previous Next

The Kiski Area hockey team rallied twice against Avonworth last week to claim a PIHL Penguins Cup Class A first-round victory.

The Cavaliers rode that momentum Monday against No. 1 North Hills in a quarterfinal matchup at Robert Morris University’s Island Sports Center.

Sophomore Ethan Bombalski scored a go-ahead goal 3 minutes, 25 seconds into the third period, senior Kyle Guido added an empty-net score with 51 seconds left and the No. 4 team from the Blue Division came away with a 3-2 victory over the Indians.

“We were very amped up to play these guys,” said Bombalski, who scored 18 goals and added 18 assists in the 20-game regular season.

“We saw their record and looked at the guys they had and the goal scorers they had. We saw they had a bunch of firepower. But we just came together as a team and knew that we could win this game. We stuck together and played our game and made the best of it.”

Kiski Area (16-5) advances to the semifinals March 15, and it will return to the Island Sports Center. The time and opponent were not known as of the deadline for Tuesday’s edition.

A quarterfinal game between Norwin and McDowell was set for Tuesday, Quaker Valley will face Fox Chapel and Shaler will meet Greensburg Salem on Thursday.

“The guys really played well as a team,” said Kiski Area coach Mark Hastings, echoing Bombalski’s sentiments about the crucial aspect of the gameplan against the top-seeded Indians.

“Our goaltender (senior Evin Brice) kept us in the game. He played really well today. That’s what we expect of him. Everyone played as one, and we knew that’s what it was going to take.”

North Hills, which lost only one time in regulation during the regular season, capped its season at 18-2-0-1.

Indians coach Jeremy Swegman had a long conversation with his players in the locker room after the game. He said that despite the loss, his players have built something strong in the program and they have a lot for which to be proud.

“It’s not just about this season,” he said.

“It’s been sort of a five-year plan that we’ve had. We knew we could get to it. The result tonight is disappointing, but this group committed to being hockey players, and that’s what we wanted to change with the culture in that sense. The senior group, the leadership that we had this season, led that initiative. They should be proud of themselves for what they helped create and where this program is now.”

Kiski Area got on the board quickly, just a little over two minutes into the game. Senior Liam Alexander set up near the blue line and fired a shot that beat North Hills senior goaltender Cole Wanner.

Guido assisted on the score for the Cavaliers.

North Hills answered about two and a half minutes later. Junior Joey Spisak unleashed a shot from just inside the blue line at the 12:13 mark. The puck was redirected by senior forward Tony Kiger past Brice for the Indians score.

Freshman Chris Muschar earned an assist on the goal.

North Hills thought it went ahead with 2:05 left in the first period.

Skating with a 5-on-3 advantage after tripping penalties were whistled on Kiski’s Matt Behrik and Ethan George, the Indians got the puck past Brice for what, for a couple seconds, appeared to be a 2-1 lead.

However, the referees waved off the goal, signaling that the net was off its moorings when the puck crossed the line.

The North Hills faithful were riled up after the waved-off goal as they felt that Brice was making too much contact with one of the goalposts as the net came off its moorings a couple of times in the second period on Indians scoring chances.

“All around our leadership, we were a team, throughout the season, that got better as the game progressed,” Swegman said.

“Our second periods were good, and our third periods were our best periods. It was a long game, and we had a lot of chances, thinking that if we kept our composure and focus we would be able to put at least one, if not more, in the net. We kept the effort up, but credit to (Kiski Area). We were 0 for 5 on the power play. We threw a lot of pucks to the net. They just didn’t go in.”

North Hills led 13-6 in shots after the first period, firing off seven in a row after it was knotted 6-6.

The Indians had a slimmer shot advantage in the second period, 10-8, and went into the third up 23-15.

Each team fired off six shots in the third.

After Bombalski’s tally, which was assisted by George and sophomore Jacob Kraus, North Hills ramped up the pressure and came down for a number of opportunities.

Alexander was called for hooking with 2:08 left in regulation, and Wanner was pulled for a 6-on-4 advantage.

However, Guido gained control of the puck for the Cavaliers and flipped it three-quarters the length of the ice into the net for a 3-1 lead.

North Hills came back 26 seconds later and drew to within a goal as senior Owen Sroka scored with 31 seconds left off an assist from Kiger to give the Indians life.

However, they were not able to get the equalizer in the final seconds. The horn sounded, and the Kiski players rushed off the bench to celebrate.

North Hills finished the game with 29 shots to Kiski Area’s 20.

“We came out with the win, and you can’t ask much more,” Bombalski said. “It’s super exciting to be moving on. We don’t want this to end.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Kiski Area, North Hills