Penguins Cup Playoffs Recaps From Monday 3/7

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, March 8, 2016 | 12:22 AM

Final Four Monday not only saw four teams fighting for title game spots in Class AA at the Robert Morris University Sports Complex on Neville Island, but also in the Division II Semi’s at the Baierl Ice Complex in Warrendale. when the smoke cleared, Bishop Canevin and Mars won a couple of Double-A dandies while Beaver and Carrick posted a pair of Semifinals shutouts. Here are recaps from all four Final Four contests that set the stage for the Class AA Penguins Cup Championship and the PIHL Division 2 Finals.

A special thanks to Brandon Showers, Mike Azadian, Josh Rowntree and Matt Vandriak for their help on these recaps.

PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS AA Semifinals:

Bishop Canevin Crusaders 4 – Baldwin Highlanders 2 
At the PIHL class AA semi finals at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center, the Bishop Canevin Crusaders come from behind in the third period to beat the Baldwin Highlanders 4-2 to move on to play the Mars Planets at 8:30 PM Monday March 14th at the UPMC Lemieux Complex in Cranberry in the PIHL Class AA final. The Crusaders scored first in an even first period as Lukas Krukovski came in on a 2 on 1 break and from the top left circle put a wrist shot to the top corner past  Baldwin goalie Cole Shannon to make it 1-0. Baldwin wasted no time tying the game, just :24 seconds later as Paul Knerr put a low writer past Crusader net-minder  Neko Borghini to knot it up at 1-1. Later in the period the Highlanders would go on the power play and Max Milan would score from in close on a rebound to put Baldwin up 2-1 after one period. Canevin would tie the score early in period two as Nick Bosnic on a 2 on 2 break from the left circle scored on a heavy shot to tie the score at 2-2. The Crusaders dominated the first 5 minutes of the period, while Baldwin dominated the midway portion of the stanza. Canevin then poured on the offense late in the period but Shannon was up to the task making numerous tough saves to keep the Highlanders in the game. The period ended tied at 2-2. Into the third period Baldwin had two power play attempts but could not score. The Crusaders also had a man advantage but the game remained tied into the final minute as a tight defensive game looked to go into overtime. However Canevin would score with less than a minute remaining as Thomas Krivak took a feed from Daniel Tkac and he came in alone and scored a beautiful goal to put his team up 3-2. Tkac took a heavy hit on the wall but held onto the puck to make a perfect pass for the game winning goal. Canevin put the game out of reach with an empty net goal by Krukovski as he dove and threw the puck toward the net to give his team a 2 goal advantage and make the final score 4-2. Both teams ended the game with 27 shots as the defenses were solid all night. Baldwin ends their season after a remarkable playoff run at 12-12-1. Bishop Canevin improves to 17-6-1 and gets a chance to get their schools eight Class AA PIHL title. They have won two titles since 2011 after previously winning four championships in the eighties, and  one in 1993.

Mars Fighting Planets 5 – Armstrong River Hawks 2 
For the 2nd year in a row, the Mars Planets will play for the Penguins Cup Championship, but this year in a different classification.  The defending Class-A champs moved up to AA this year, and defeated last season’s Class-AA runner up in Armstrong, 5-2 at the RMU Island Sports Center.  The Planets got on the board first, as Noah Raymundo took a lead pass that gave him a step on the Armstrong defense.  Raymundo broke in on Armstrong goalie Jacob Lorigan and snapped a wrist shot from inside the left wing circle to give Mars a 1-0 lead with 6:33 left in the opening period.  Owen Vasbinder and Beau Heakins got the assists on the goal, which was the only tally for either team in the period.  Armstrong would get the equalizer early in the 2nd period on the power play.  Donovan Wichowski passed from the right point to the left, where Zane Wichowski shot towards the net.  The shot hit bodies in front of the net, but Luke Gross found the loose puck and pushed it home to tie the game at 1-1 at the 2:03 mark.   Mars would take the lead back 4:51 later when another lead pass led to a Planets break away goal.  This time Raymundo found Vasbinder behind the defense, who deaked Lorigan before snapping a high wrist shot into the net, giving the Planets a 2-1 lead that would hold until the end of the 2nd period.  Early in the 3rd period, Armstrong had a great opportunity to tie the game.  Will Scurci was whistled for tripping at the 1:29 mark, but the River Hawks couldn’t convert.  As Scurci came out of the box, Keaton Hanna blocked a shot and moved the puck ahead to Scurci, who returned the pass to Hanna.  Hanna broke in on net and scored, putting the Planets ahead 3-1 at the 3:38 mark.  Raymundo would strike again 4:12 later, to make it 4-1 Planets.  Armstrong would keep fighting though, and with the goaltender pulled, Jace Rearic converted a Luke Gross rebound to make the score 4-2 with 1:03 left in the game.  But with the net still empty, Vasbinder would score for the second time from Heakins, pushing the Mars lead to 5-2 with :27 seconds left in regulation.  The line of Heakins, Raymundo, and Vasbinder were the difference in the game, as the trio combined for 11 total points.  Raymundo scored twice, Vasbinder had 2 goals and 2 assists, and Heakins tallied 4 assists for the Planets in the win.  Goaltender Tyler Sprong turned in a solid performance for the Planets as well.  Despite being outshot 33 to 25 by the River Hawks, Sprong made 31 saves to help secure the victory.  Mars will take on Bishop Canevin for the Class-AA Penguins Cup championship on Monday night at 8:30pm from the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry.  The teams met twice on the regular season, with the Planets routing the Crusaders 9-3 back on October 12th at the Mt. Lebanon Rec Center, then playing to a 3-3 tie on January 21st at the Baierl Ice Complex.  Mars will be looking to become the first team since Pine-Richland in 2007 (Class-AA) and 2008 (Class-AAA) to win back to back Penguins Cup titles in different classifications.

PIHL DIVISION 2 Semifinals:

Beaver Bobcats 5 – Indiana Little Indians 0
There won’t be a repeat this year for the Little Indians of Indiana as they fell today to the #1 ranked Beaver Bobcats by a score of 5-0. The Bobcats used a high pressure offensive attack lead by the top line of Evan Komlenic, Ryan Hartman, and Antoni Chirgott and came at Indiana’s goalie, Zane McElhenny, in waves. The first period they were able to pepper Zane with 19 shots getting two of those past the net minder. The scoring started 3:20 into that period when Tanner Palocsik beat McElhenny to give Beaver the lead 1-0. After that goal it was almost 9 minutes with out another puck got past McElhenny, not for lack of trying though. Over that nine minute span the Bobcats racked up another 10 shots scoring on the 11 on a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing display by the aforementioned top line. It was Chirgot who got the puck on the near side of the net and left it off in the slot to Hartman who was then able to find a wide open Komlenic who netted the puck stick side giving the Bobcats a 2-0 lead. We’d end the 1st with that score. Both teams however had power play opportunities neither able to capitalize though on the man advantage. In the 2nd period McElhenny stood on his head multiple times keeping his team in the contest. He faced 15 shots saving 14 of them It was a holding penalty to Aaron Burckhart of the Indians that allowed the Bobcats to score. It was him was the 13th shot that was fired by Andrew Begley from an assist by Chirgot giving the Bobcats their only power play tally of the match, 3-0. On the fresh sheet of ice the Indians would have to alter their offense a little bit and become more exposed giving the Bobcats ample scoring chances again. Begley was able to intercept a pass near center red and take it up the near boards where he’d beat McElhenny glove side giving his team a 4-0 lead at the 4:20 mark. Donnie Morgan for Beaver would add the final tally at the 9:34 mark assisted by Luke Cahill and Jake Coffield. The Bobcats finished on the power play 1-4 while Indiana finished 0-2. Beaver through two games of the post season have outscored their opposition 12-1 and will go on to face either Carrick or Leadville on Monday March 14 at 5:30 from the UPMC Lemieux Sports in Cranberry. 

Carrick Cougars 2 – Meadville Bulldogs 0 
Nathan Norkevicus stopped all 32 shots he faced, posting his fifth shutout of the season, as No. 3 Carrick (15-6-1) knocked off No. 2 Meadville, 2-0, in the PIHL Division 2 Semifinals on Monday night at the Baierl Ice Complex in Warrendale. With the victory the Cougars advance to the Division 2 Championship for the second straight season, where they will meet top-seeded Beaver (20-2) on Monday, March 14 at 5:30pm at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. Tyler Wolf scored both Carrick goals, helping Norkevicus’ efforts in handing the Bulldogs their first shutout loss of the season. The tone was set early as Wolf, on Carrick’s first offensive rush, would drive to the net, creating a scramble for the puck between Wolf, Meadville goalie Sam Kineston and Carrick forward Nick Manuel. Manuel would find the loose puck, shuffle it back to Wolf, who would hit the open net voided by Kineston with a backhanded shot, putting Carrick up 1-0 just 31 seconds into the game. The score would remain that way, with Meadville getting several excellent scoring looks only to be stopped time and again by Norkevicus. At the 5:47 mark of the third period, Wolf would give Carrick insurance on a side-of-the-net goal in which it appeared that Kineston had stopped the puck, but had failed to cover it. Wolf, the opportunist, jammed the puck over the goal line, extending the Cougars’ lead to 2-0. Shortly after that, Meadville would get an excellent opportunity to get back into the game with a 1:19 long 5-on-3 power play after Jake Sakulsky and Jake Speicher went to the penalty box for Carrick. But Norkevicus would stand tall, stopping multiple Meadville shots, including a wild save off a shot by Trevor Johnson that hit the post, then rolled down Norkevicus’ back and rested atop the backside of his pads. Carrick would go on to kill the penalties and, despite being outshot 32-15, would skate away with the victory. Carrick, which fell 5-2 to Indiana in last year’s Division 2 Championship Game, returns to face a Beaver team currently riding an 18-game winning streak. This year, Carrick defeated the Bobcats, 5-0, but lost twice to Beaver by 2-0 and 4-0 scores in their last two meetings. Meadville, which has lost to Carrick now in back-to-back semifinals, will lose just two seniors, Kineston and Johnson.