PIHL High School Hockey Notebook – 12/26/2011

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, December 26, 2011 | 3:22 PM

Welcome to another edition of “PIHL Notebook,” your weekly companion to “The PIHL Power Play” on the MSA Sports Network. This week, Norwin, West Allegheny, Knoch and Baldwin are among the teams “Melting the Ice” while the “Scoreboard Watch” includes X. And is Penn-Trafford a favorite or a dark horse to bring home the gold medal this March? Dan Maier offers his take in “They Said It.”

PIHL CLASS AAA:

MELTING THE ICE

Canon-McMillan rolls on with a perfect 11-0-0 mark … Peters Township has won two straight since losing to the Big Macs … North Allegheny is within two points of Mount Lebanon atop Section 2 thanks to five consecutive victories … McDowell has back-to-back wins … Fox Chapel has come out on the right side of three straight after dropping its first seven … Norwin has points in its last five, pulling within three points of Penn-Trafford atop Section 4.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

12/20/11 – Non-section: North Allegheny 7, Penn-Trafford 5 … The Tigers halted a perfect 10-0-0 start for the Warriors in a wild affair … North Allegheny struck first, but Penn-Trafford bounced back for a 2-1 lead after one … NA poured it on early in the second, though, scoring four goals in a 5:31 span for a lead Jim Black’s squad never relinquished … Joe Griffin and Shawn Baird each scored twice for the Tigers and added one assist with Griffin netting the winner on the power play … Dan Maier and Conlan Sodrosky had the same output for the Warriors, with one of Maier’s goals coming on the man advantage while Sodrosky picked up a shorthanded marker.

12/22/11 – Non-section: Canon-McMillan 6, State College 3 … The Big Macs took their act on the road and kept the streak alive … Canon-McMillan led 2-0 after one and held a 3-1 lead early in the second, but Stefan Horgas scored two late goals, one on the power play, to complete a three-point night for himself and send things to intermission tied at 3-3 … Zack McKown scored his second goal at 3:42 of the third to secure the win and would add his second assist on a J.D. Oddi goal at 14:39 … Carmen Dalesandro also lit the lamp twice in the winning effort while Dan Moscone scored once and set up another for State College.

PIHL CLASS AA:

MELTING THE ICE

West Allegheny has grabbed a six-pack of wins for an eight-point stranglehold on Section 1 … Bishop Canevin has won three in a row, but Erie Cathedral Prep trumps that with five for a deadlock at first place in Section 2.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

12/19/11 – Non-section: Plum 4, Montour 3 (OT) … Valley Sports Complex played host to a thriller here that saw four lead changes … The Mustangs struck just 12 seconds in, but the Spartans led 2-1 after one … Plum took the lead back at 3-2 early in the third after a scoreless second, but it only lasted 2:15 until Montour tied it … Andrew Walters ended it early in overtime, though, scoring at 16 seconds to complete a three-point night (2 G, 1 A) … Jacob Kuhn added two points (1 G, 1 A) in the win and Brian Gerstel notched two assists in the loss … Taylor Cestra stole the show for Plum, though, stopping 43 shots while his team only fired 22 pucks at Montour.

12/22/11 – Non-section: West Allegheny 4, Chartiers Valley 2 … The MSA crew got to cover this one between two Penguins Cup favorites, and neither team disappointed … The Indians struck just 18 seconds in, but the Colts tied it about five minutes later and then took a 2-1 lead at 1:12 of the second … West Allegheny would tie it 3:19 before intermission before Chris Hughes netted the winner at 3:44 of the third … Jonathan Levitt scored twice in the win … Justin Sabilla did the same in the loss, one of them shorthanded … Jason Kumpfmiller turned aside 20 shots for the Indians.

PIHL CLASS A:

MELTING THE ICE

Mars and Quaker Valley continue trying to outdo each other in Section 2 with the Planets remaining perfect at 8-0-0 while the Quakers have won six straight since losing to Mars … Westmont Hilltop has a point in eight consecutive games after dropping its opener, but Freeport remains within two points of first place in Section 3 after going unbeaten in its last three … Hampton remains on top in Section 4 with points in its last six … Knoch has registered back-to-back wins after a 1-6-0 start.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

12/19/11 – Non-section: Hampton 6, Kittanning 3 … A lot of eyes were on this game after the fireworks at Consol Energy Center last March, but fortunately the physicality was kept under control this time around in a well-played hockey game … The Talbots scored 26 seconds in, and a 1-1 tie late in the first only lasted 52 seconds … Hampton would add three more in the second to build a 5-1 lead and take control despite Kittanning taking the third by a 2-1 count … Luke Leya’s hat trick included two power play tallies and the winner … Ian Wood set up five Hampton goals, Zach Kosick scored shorthanded and added two assists, and Cam Radna made 26 saves … Heinz Koster scored three goals himself, including one with the man advantage, and Hunter Grafton picked up two assists.

12/22/11 – Section 1: Serra Catholic 6, South Park 4 … Serra Catholic got back on the winning track after losing big to Mars and Quaker Valley … South Park made it interesting, though, scoring first and managing to force a 2-2 tie after one … Serra would score twice within a minute midway through the second and took the lead for good … Garner Kraemer led the way with two goals, one on the power play, and two assists while Zach Schindler (2 G, 1 SH, 1 A), Tyler Kresl (1 G, 2 A) and Tyler Speis (3 A) chipped in three points apiece.

PIHL OPEN CLASS:

MELTING THE ICE

Morgantown and John Marshall continue vying for the Section 1 crown as the Mohawks have won four straight, good for a two-point edge over the Monarchs despite a recent hat trick of victories for them … Quigley is looking to run away with the Section 2 title thanks to a currently unmatched six-game winning streak … Ford City holds a three-point advantage in Section 3 after taking its last five contests … Section 4 opponents Greensburg Salem, Baldwin and Carrick all entered the holiday break with three straight wins.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

12/19/11 – Non-section: Trinity 5, Blackhawk 3 … This one may not have started out close, but it sure wound up that way … The Hillers scored twice midway through the first and led 4-0 at 6:24 of the second … The Cougars would score three in a 4:32 span before we saw the Zamboni, though, giving everyone plenty of reason to stick around for the third … Brooke Webber would score her second power play goal for Trinity at 4:10 to ice the victory, having also netted the winner at 6:24 of the second with the man advantage … Kyle Schaefer lit the lamp twice for Blackhawk while Robert Houk set up all three goals … Jacob Ferguson contributed one goal and four helpers to the winning cause, Dean Hodgdon (1 G, 1 A) added two points and Andrew Mack registered 32 saves.

12/22/11 – Non-section: Baldwin 5, Ligonier Valley 1 … The Highlanders remain hot while the Rams stay cold in a penalty-laden affair at the Ice Castle … Jesse Powell’s two shorthanded goals in the opening 2:06 of the contest proved all Baldwin would need, and he would complete the hat trick at 11:08 of the opening stanza … It was 5-0 after two and nearly a shutout, but Jesse Hoak spoiled the bid at 11:31 of the third … Anthony Alaimo picked up two assists while Zach Christman made 31 saves for Baldwin.

THEY SAID IT:

“At this point in time I see ourselves as more of a dark horse just because of missing the playoffs last year and how we have done in years past, not making it very far. We haven’t really been in that tension late in the season recently, so I see us more like an underdog.” – Penn-Trafford forward Dan Maier on his mindset regarding the Warriors’ postseason aspirations

That wraps up this edition of “PIHL Notebook,” but check back every Monday from now through March for the most current news from around the league. First, though, Adam Hoerner and Josh Rowntree host another episode of “The PIHL Power Play” on Wednesday night at 8:00. Joining us this week will be Serra Catholic head coach Brian Boehm and Freeport helmsman Dave Hepler to discuss their quests for gold in Class A. Plus, we check in with perhaps the most dynamic player in the league this season, Justin Sabilla of Chartiers Valley. We also discuss the midseason favorites to reach the top of the playoff mountain this spring in our “Five Minute Major.” The exclusive home for the 2012 Penguins Cup Playoffs is the MSA Sports Network!

Tags: Baldwin, Bishop Canevin, Canon-McMillan, Carrick, Erie McDowell, Ford City, Fox Chapel, Greensburg Salem, Hampton, John Marshall (WV), Knoch, West Allegheny, Westmont Hilltop