PIHL announces January players of the month

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, February 11, 2023 | 3:55 PM

Upper St. Clair played six games in January and senior forward Colin Ruffner scored in every one of them.

His efforts earned him PIHL Class 3A Player of the Month honors for January.

He joined Franklin Regional senior forward Matt Knizner (2A) and McDowell senior forward Braeden Martin (A) as the league’s top players from last month.

January's PIHL players of the month are …@PIHLhockey @TribLiveHSSN @frpantherhockey @mcdowell_hockey @USC_High_School pic.twitter.com/a8g58vutfZ

— Bill Beckner (@BillBeckner) February 11, 2023

Ruffner had 11 goals and seven assists in January for the Panthers (9-7). He registered a pair of hat tricks against Baldwin and Peters Township, and delivered the game-winner in overtime in a 6-5 win in the latter contest.

Ruffner is tied with his teammate, Aaron Stawiarski, for the 3A scoring lead. Both have 60 points.

Knizner tallied six goals and six assists, for 12 points, over a five-game stretch for the Panthers (8-8).

He ranks seventh in scoring in the classification with 37 points (18 goals, 19 assists). Five of his scores have come on the power play.

Martin, the top point producer in the PIHL the last two seasons, had five goals and nine assists for 14 points last month. McDowell (13-4) went 4-2 in that time.

He has 21 goals and 31 assists for the season. Martin scored four goals in the Class A all-star game.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.