PIHL High School Hockey Notebook – 12/24/2012

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, December 24, 2012 | 12:17 PM

Welcome to another edition of “PIHL Notebook,” your weekly companion to “The PIHL Power Play” on the MSA Sports Network. Christmas week means a tad less content than usual due to the standard holiday break from games, but we still have your weekly thermometer of streaking teams in “Melting the Ice.” Meanwhile, the abbreviated “Scoreboard Watch” includes a healthy dose of divisional games along with two non-section overtime thrillers. So, let’s light the lamp on this edition of “PIHL Notebook.”

MELTING THE ICE:

Class AAA: Bethel Park (5-0-0), Upper St. Clair (3-0-1)

Class AA: Moon (3-0-0), Chartiers Valley (3-0-0), Hampton (2-0-1)

Class A: Quaker Valley (10-0-0), Mars (5-0-1), Serra Catholic (5-0-0), Freeport (5-0-0)

Open Class: Blackhawk (9-0-0), Indiana (7-0-1), Ford City (4-0-0), Morgantown (3-0-1), Harbor Creek (3-0-0)

SCOREBOARD WATCH:

12/17/12 – Class AA – Non-Section – Bishop Canevin 2, Hampton 2 (OT) … The Talbots (6-1-1) started the scoring 7:32 into the first period off the stick of Ethan Homitz, but the Crusaders (6-1-2) tied it moments later thanks to Kaden Kelly. Bishop Canevin would take a one-goal lead at 7:14 of the second from Christopher Reda, who also picked up an earlier assist. The lead held up until 10:05 of period three when Zach Kosick tied it, and the goaltenders took center stage from there. Kosick recorded one helper while Eric Leya also factored into both Hampton goals. Between the pipes, Cam Raidna of the Talbots outdid Nikita Meskin by a 39 to 19 count.

12/18/12 – Class AAA – Section 3 – North Allegheny 2, Seneca Valley 1 (OT) … This one nearly saw two scoreless periods, but the Tigers (8-2-0) finally got on the board at 16:57 of the second thanks to Dominic Zangaro. The Raiders (6-2-1) would tie it at 8:58 of the third with a power play goal from Chris Marziotto, but North Allegheny got the winner in overtime with its own man advantage courtesy of Joe Griffin at 3:04. As for the goaltending, Seneca Valley’s Tanner Pfeffer was busier than Bradford Thornburgh with 36 saves to 28.

12/19/12 – Class A – Non-Section – Serra Catholic 7, Deer Lakes 6 (OT) … The Lancers (4-5-1) may not have come out with the win, but they made a huge statement against the Eagles (6-3-0). In fact, Deer Lakes dominated the first period by a 4-2 margin, featuring two goals from Thomas Lisowski (2 G, 1 A). Serra Catholic took the second 3-1, though, led by two goals for Tyler Speis to complete a hat trick started in the first. The Eagles struck early in the third courtesy of Nicholas Vacsulka (1 G, 1 A), and it nearly held up as the winner, but Jonathan Merlo tied it at 16:57. The 6-6 tie lasted less than two minutes, though, with Roman Kraemer (3 G, 1 A) completing the hat trick at 1:52 of overtime. Tyler Kresl was actually the lead point getter of the night, assisting on five Serra Catholic goals. Lucas Gapsky of the Lancers was the busier backstop with 30 saves.

12/20/12 – Class AA – Section 3 – Gateway 5, Kiski Area 1 … The Cavaliers (2-8-0) drew first blood at 4:52 of the first thanks to Alex Welsh, but the Gators (2-7-0) exploded with four second period goals to snap up the victory. Two of those came from Jonathan Kasper (2 G, 1 A) while Taylor Siwik (2 G, 1 A) completed his three-point night and capped the scoring at 4:45 of the final period. Tyler Perhac certainly earned the victory by making 29 saves

12/21/12 – Class AAA – Section 4 – Shaler 4, Butler 3 … Michael Klena (4 G) gave the Titans (5-4-1) a very early two-goal lead by the 2:00 mark of period one, but Tanner Chuba got a crucial late power play goal for the Golden Tornado (5-4-0) at 16:49. Shaler would regain its two-goal cushion when Klena completed the hat trick for the only goal of period two at 11:51. Good thing, too, because Butler managed to tie the score with third period goals from Nicholas Whann during a man advantage and Tony Harpel at even strength. The 3-3 score only lasted 1:53, though, as Klena netted his fourth with a power play tally for the win at 9:28. Theodore Vincent Evans was the better goalie with 30 saves to pick up the victory.

That wraps up this edition of “PIHL Notebook,” but check back every Monday through March for more news from around the league. In the meantime, 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 Thomas Jefferson forward Zach Uhlyar, Latrobe head coach John Winebrenner and Pine-Richland head coach Mike Bagnato. Your home for the 2013 Penguins Cup Playoffs is the MSA Sports Network!