PIHL High School Hockey News and Notes – 12/20/2010

By: Bruce Markey
Monday, December 20, 2010 | 12:00 AM

Welcome to another edition of “PIHL News and Notes,” your continuing source for all the scholastic hockey happenings you may not hear about on “The PIHL Power Play.” A number of teams are putting some all-important wins together to make Christmas break easier to enjoy. Meanwhile, a perennial power in Class A might have a winning record, but are they a serious contender again? We’ll go inside the numbers to find out.

Plus, our “Game of the Week” previews feature a trio of contests which may appear lopsided at first glance, but a closer look says we should pay closer attention, and an Open Class battle could help one team escape the basement of the Chiefs Cup bracket. So join us once again for a look at what else is happening in each classification…

PIHL CLASS AAA:

Plum Making a Push

Don’t look now, but Plum (2-5-2) has earned points in four straight games following a 0-for-5 start, putting the Mustangs on the cusp of sneaking into the twelfth spot in the Penguins Cup Playoffs. Want to question strength of schedule? Not a good idea. It started with a 7-7 tie against State College on November 22 and most recently featured a 3-3 tie with the defending Penguins Cup champions last Monday. A 6-5 overtime triumph over Seneca Valley and a 5-3 decision against a solid Penn-Trafford team were sandwiched in between. Starring on offense during the unbeaten streak has been senior Cody Cenci (4 G, 10 A) with three goals, six assists and a point in all four contests, featuring a four-point night (1 PPG, 3 A) against the Raiders on November 30. Helping out along the way have been the team’s top scorer in senior Nick Cicolini (11 G, 5 A) and solid junior Hunter Brett (6 G, 4 A). At the other end, young goaltender Taylor Cestra (2-4-2, 5.44 GAA, 0.815 SV %) may not have sparkling numbers, but he has obviously made the key saves and is gaining confidence every time he steps into the crease. Plum closes out the first half tonight with a Section 3 battle at Shaler. The Titans have dropped three straight, but won the previous meeting 9-4 way back on October 25. The Mustangs will need to shut down senior Conor Burke and sophomore Jacob Hetz, who torched them for a combined six goals last time out while Cenci was held to just two assists.

GAME OF THE WEEK – NON-SECTION
State College Little Lions (3-3-2) @ Canon-McMillan Big Macs (8-1-1)
Monday, December 20, 7:20 PM @ Ice-O-Plex at South Pointe
The skinny: The Little Lions are coming off a 2-0 loss to North Allegheny on Thursday, but earned points in their previous two contests. This team loves its ice time, too, evidenced by four overtime games in which State College has a 1-1-2 mark. Senior Abraham Edson (9 G, 7 A) and junior Dan Moscone (8 G, 8 A) lead a group of six 10-point scorers with 16 apiece. Meanwhile, the Big Macs have points in two straight following their only loss, a 1-0 decision to the aforementioned Tigers on December 6. Canon-McMillan can score, too, but the difference here could by senior backstop Ryan Palonis (6-1-1, 2.09 GAA, 0.909 SV % 1 SO), coming off a 23-save performance in a 7-2 win over Pittsburgh Central Catholic on Friday night.

PIHL CLASS AA:

Spartans Hoping for Hat Trick

Montour (5-4-2) has won two in a row and earned a point in three of its last four games. The Spartans will go for a season-high third straight victory when they host Pine-Richland tonight in a non-section tilt before the holiday break. Montour is currently nestled comfortably into the seventh slot in the Class AA playoff picture and threatening to move up. Senior Zach Milnarcik (13 G, 13 A) combined for three goals and three assists in decisions of 5-2 over Gateway and 7-4 against Thomas Jefferson, leading a fifth-ranked offense which boasts three other 10-point scorers. Key among them have been fellow seniors Kurt Kurelis (8 G, 8 A) and Zach Schwartz (2 G, 13 A). At the other end, the goaltending tandem of senior Matt Penz (3-1-2, 2.89 GAA, 0.910 SV %) and junior Julian DiFilippo (2-3-0, 3.40 GAA, 0.868 SV %, 1 SO) may not exactly be slamming the door shut on everybody, but a seventh-ranked defense puts them dead middle of the class, which has obviously been good enough so far. It will be a challenging second half, though, with seven of Montour’s eight games coming against teams currently in the postseason, including perennial Section 2 rival Moon and last year’s Penguins Cup finalists, Latrobe and West Allegheny. If Milnarcik and his goaltenders are saving their best hockey for the stretch run, though, the Spartans could find themselves skating inside the Consol Energy Center this March.

GAME OF THE WEEK – SECTION 4
Latrobe Wildcats (6-2-1) @ Gateway Gators (2-7-1)
Tuesday, December 21, 7:50 PM @ Center Ice Delmont
The skinny: The Wildcats boast the sixth-best offense in the class while the Gators are first. On the flip side, Latrobe has the top defense while only three others have let in more goals than Gateway. The latter is what got the three-time defending Penguins and Pennsylvania Cup champions a 5-2 victory last Monday, but the second part of this home-and-home should be exciting based on the first meeting. Senior Zach LaDuke (3 G, 1 A) and sophomore Josh Singley (1 G, 4 A) starred for Latrobe while sophomore Jake DeHass (1 G, 1 A) paced Gateway. Notably absent from the Gators’ stat sheet was junior Troy McAteer (16 G, 10 A), and his team will have to muster more than 19 shots to split the season series.

PIHL CLASS A:

Quakers Face Questions in Second Half

Quaker Valley (7-4-0) made three straight appearances in the Penguins Cup Final from 2006 to 2008, winning twice. The past three seasons have seen Mars take over Class A, simultaneously dominating the Quakers, winning nine straight meetings, including the 2009 Semifinals and the 2010 Quarterfinals. Getting this out of the way, 2010-11 has seen the Planets take 8-0 and 3-1 decisions in two of the aforementioned games against QV. That being said, the Quakers boast the second-best offense in the class right now with 74 goals while their sixth-ranked defense has allowed just 23 goals in the eight contests not played against Mars. A season-high four-game winning streak from October 28 through November 19 brought a 36-7 margin. Nine different players scored multiple points in the team’s most recent outing, an 11-1 triumph at South Park on Thursday. You want depth? Seven double-digit scorers should satisfy any fan, led by junior Jason Lottes (13 G, 9 A) and sophomore Clayton Bouchard (12 G, 9 A). Even with all this in mind, Quaker Valley faces the arduous task of silencing its critics in January, February and hopefully into March. Head coach Kevin Quinn’s squad has gone 0-for-4 against teams with winning records thus far, and the second half will only get harder. Meetings with Hampton and Kittanning, two with Serra Catholic and a rematch with South Fayette, who edged the Quakers 3-2 on October 25, are on the docket after the holiday break.

GAME OF THE WEEK – NON-SECTION
Freeport Yellowjackets (3-6-0) @ Mars Planets (9-0-0)
Tuesday, December 21, 6:30 PM @ BladeRunners Warrendale
The skinny: Freeport may have lost four straight, but has allowed just 31 goals all season, a total only four other teams have bested. Scoring goals has been another story, so players like freshman Cole Hepler (4 G, 3 A) will need to find another gear – or three – against senior goaltender Tyler Stepke (6-0-0, 0.60 GAA, 0.963 SV %, 3 SO). Meanwhile, Mars has been borderline ridiculous with a mere eight goals allowed thus far, and 67 scored has been outdone by just two if its peers. It will fall on junior Elliot Tisdale (12 G, 17 A) to lead the Planets’ offense against junior goalie Cody Lee (3-6-0, 3.41 GAA, 0.883 SV %).

PIHL OPEN CLASS:

Cougars are Cruising

Blackhawk (7-4-0) boasts the fifth-best offense and sixth-best defense in the Open Class. The Cougars may not blow the barn doors off with either ranking, but a lot of teams bidding for a spot in the Nailers Cup Playoffs would love to have a three-game winning streak going. This group will look to make it four in a row tonight when they host Carrick in a Section 2 showdown, with Blackhawk winning the first meeting 4-1 on November 19. The current string is not only a season-high, but it’s been nothing short of dominant with 26 goals scored and nine allowed. Most recently, the team’s leading scorers, seniors Chris Levato (19 G, 12 A) and Manny Davison (12 G, 11 A) combined for six goals and three helpers in a 10-4 rout at John Marshall on Friday. The previous two victories were section contests against Quigley and Keystone Oaks, the former being the team Blackhawk is chasing in the standings. The Cougars could very well catch the Spartans, too, especially if senior Ross Phipps (6-4-0, 3.10 GAA, 0.902 SV %) continues his brilliant play between the pipes. With a supporting cast which includes senior Jesse DiPietro (11 G, 7 A), a special teams ace with five power play tallies and one shorthanded marker, along with sophomore playmaker Josh McCuean (2 G, 10 A), there is no reason this bunch can’t be playing well into March. It will be a challenging second half, though, with two games against Morgantown, one against Wheeling Park and a rematch with section rival Harbor Creek in the regular season finale on the schedule.

GAME OF THE WEEK – SECTION 3
Altoona Mountain Lions (2-7-0) @ Connellsville Falcons (2-7-1)
Monday, December 20, 7:50 PM @ DiVito Park in Connellsville
The skinny: Both teams are currently on the outside looking in at the Chiefs Cup bracket, but a win here for either side before the holidays could easily spark a second half comeback. Altoona is coming off a 6-5 win against defending Open Cup champion Ringgold last Monday with sophomore Adam Badorrek (18 G, 3 A) netting five goals. After him, though, the offensive pit gets deeper for the Mountain Lions while the Falcons have shown a bit more balance thanks to junior Tim Brown (10 G, 6 A) and senior Brady Halfin (8 G, 5 A). This game actually starts a home-and-home, but the rematch won’t happen until January 6.

Don’t miss the next episode of “The PIHL Power Play” with Adam Hoerner and Josh Rowntree coming up Wednesday on the MSA Sports Network. The second time will be the charm as Harbor Creek helmsman Rob Spitzer will tell us about his team’s perfect first half while Central Valley coach Jim Dolence will tell us about a very different experience for a new era in Center/Monaca hockey. Plus, Quigley senior William Martin will tell us why the Spartans are a serious threat for the Nailers and Open Cups this season. It’s all happening on Wednesday night from 8:00 to 9:00 on your exclusive home for the 2011 Penguins Cup Playoffs, the MSA Sports Network!