Penn-Trafford hockey could be in store for exciting season

By: Paul Schofield
Sunday, October 8, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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If the Penn-Trafford hockey season turns out to be like the thrilling season opener, Warriors fan should be in for an exciting season.

Penn-Trafford got a late tying goal from Robert Thatcher with two minutes left in the third period, and then posted goals from Cam Kiste, Thatcher and Drew Hall in a shootout for a 5-4 victory against Norwin.

“It was an exciting game,” Penn-Trafford coach Chris Cerutti said. “All the games could be tight.”

Looking at the Class 2A, Cerutti said Bishop McCort and Thomas Jefferson are the early favorites. He feels his team, Latrobe, South Fayette, Franklin Regional, Norwin, Armstrong and Hempfield will be in the playoff hunt.

South Fayette is the returning Penguins Cup and state champion.

Norwin, Fox Chapel and North Hills moved up from Class A this season while Meadville, Mars and Butler dropped to Class A.

Penn-Trafford graduated nine starters from the 2022-23 team that finished fourth, but lost to fifth-seeded Thomas Jefferson in the PIHL Class 2A quarterfinals.

“Thomas Jefferson just seems to have our number,” Cerutti said.

Some of the key losses to graduation included Xavier Solomon (25 goals, 18 assists) and Nate Loughner (15 goals, 20 assists).

Heading the group of returnees are defensemen Kiste and Chase Bonson, along with forwards Jack Blank, Thatcher and Kropczynski. Kropczynski scored 11 goals and had eight assists, Blank had five goals and 11 assists and Kiste had two goals and eight assists.

Others Cerutti is counting on include forwards T.J. Ferguson, Marco Ferraccio and Hall, and defensemen Garrett Rechtorik and Gavin Paterson.

“I believe our speed will be our strength this season,” Cerutti said. “We want to be able to put pressure in the offensive zone. We want to turn them over and create scoring chances.”

Against Norwin, Ferraccio scored two goals while Kropczynski and Thatcher scored one each.

“If we play to our strengths, I feel we’ll be OK,” Cerutti said.

The biggest area of concern is finding a goaltender. The past three seasons, Jackson Kerrigan managed the crease. This year, Cerutti has three players — senior Sam Sloan, junior Jackson Nachos and sophomore Cam Farrow — who got the call against Norwin and made 18 saves.

“The goaltending could be a revolving door,” Cerutti said. “We’ll go with who will give us the best chance at winning.”

Penn-Trafford also won the Greensburg Salem preseason tournament. The Warriors outscored Norwin, 11-7, in the finals. Norwin’s Alex Thomas, who scored three goals in the season opener, had six goals in the championship game.

“We learned a lot about the team,” Cerutti said. “We don’t have the depth we’ve had in the past. So I have to manage ice time better.”

Penn-Trafford returns to the ice until Monday (Oct. 16) when it will host Latrobe.

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: Penn-Trafford