PIHL Notebook – 12/02/2014

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, December 2, 2014 | 12:26 AM

Welcome to another edition of “PIHL Notebook,” your weekly companion to “The PIHL Power Play” on the MSA Sports Network. First up, “Melting the Ice” provides your weekly thermometer of streaking teams around the league. Meanwhile, this week’s “Scoreboard Watch” includes a pair of teams picking up their first victories of the 2014-15 campaign. Last but not least, we round things out with a preview of upcoming MSA broadcasts, including a classic match-up of perennial powers in Class A. So, let’s light the lamp on this edition (and another season) of “PIHL Notebook.”

MELTING THE ICE (Records listed indicate current unbeaten streak):

Class AAA: North Allegheny (5-0-1); Bethel Park (2-0-1)

Class AA: Shaler (7-0-0); Hampton (3-0-0)

Class A: Mars (7-0-0); Quaker Valley (7-0-0); Thomas Jefferson (7-0-0); Deer Lakes (5-0-0); Freeport (4-0-0); Hempfield (4-0-0); Montour (4-0-0)

Class B: Harbor Creek (7-0-0); Indiana (5-0-1)

Class C: Carrick (8-0-0); Elizabeth Forward (5-0-0); OLSH (4-0-0)

SCOREBOARD WATCH:

Class AAA

11/24/14 – Upper St. Clair 0-3-1=4, Pine-Richland 1-0-0=1 … The Panthers’ (3-5-1) three-goal explosion in the second period was enough to get them past the struggling Rams (1-8-0). Nate Carnovale gave Pine-Richland the lead at 15:47 of the first period, but the lead did not last long as Austin Cassidy got the first of his two goals at 4:20 of the second. Elliot Stevenson buried the winner at 11:45 of period two, and Jake Reinheimer would close out the scoring with an empty-netter at 13:55 of the third. The Rams took a 33-22 edge in shots, but Adam Seeton’s 32 stops were enough. Jack Gavett would contribute two assists for USC.

Class AA

11/25/14 – Hampton 2-1-1=5, Erie Cathedral Prep 0-1-0=1 … The Talbots (6-1-1) took down the Ramblers (6-2-0) decisively in a battle of cross-conference powers. Hampton got all the offense it would need in the first period as Ethan Homitz got the first of his two goals just 42 seconds in before Michael Stritzinger netted the eventual winner at 8:09. Dillon Elliott got Prep on the board at 7:46 of the second, creating “the most dangerous lead in hockey” for Hampton going into the dressing room. But Ryan Hornung and William Maguire scored less than two minutes apart to turn a 3-1 advantage into the 5-1 final score. Erie outshot Hampton 30-26, but Sam Commendatore turned aside 29 shots to pick up the win. Daniel Grob picked up two assists for the Talbots.

Class A

11/26/14 – Westmont Hilltop 1-1-1=3, Bishop McCort 2-0-0=2 … The Hilltoppers (2-6-0) had plenty to be thankful for during the holiday week, picking up their first two victories of the season in back-to-back fashion, with this second one coming in an upset of the Crimson Crushers (4-5-0). The McQuillan’s opened the scoring for Westmont when Adam set up Nicholas 10:02 into the contest. McCort answered with back-to-back power play tallies from Brett Seitz and Tristan Mock four minutes apart, taking a 2-1 lead into the second period. Gunnar Hockenberry tied things up just 2:30 of hockey time after the Crushers had grabbed the lead, and it was knotted up at intermission. It stayed that way for a good bit of the third, but Stephen DeMarco prevented overtime at 11:11 to secure the victory. The Hilltoppers took a staggering 52-10 edge in shots, but John Bradley’s 49 saves kept the game much closer than perhaps it had a right to be. Nicholas (1 G, 1 A) and Adam (2 A) McQuillan finished with two points apiece while Connor Bunn contributed two assists for McCort.

Class B

11/25/14 – Meadville 1-2-3=6, Beaver 0-0-0=0 … The Bulldogs (5-3-0) defeated the Bobcats (4-4-0) decisively in what looked like an even matchup on paper before the puck dropped. Bryan Ray scored twice on the power play, including the winner at 12:23 of the first period, and added one assist to the winning effort. Trevor Johnson added a power play goal and two helpers of his own while Barrett Hoffman scored at even strength and assisted twice. Sam Kineston stopped 23 pieces of vulcanized rubber to earn the shutout while the offense in front of him mustered 44 shots.

Class C

11/25/14 – Trinity 4-2-3=9, Wheeling Central Catholic 1-1-0=2 … The Hillers (1-4-1) notched their first win of the season over the Maroon Knights (1-5-1), getting all the necessary offense in the first period. Ashon Burgess picked up the winner at 9:39 on the power play, set up Garrett Geresti and James Menzer. Aaron Cowden’s even strength goal at 9:04 of the second gave Trinity a 5-2 lead and began a five-goal barrage which Wheeling failed to counter. Both goaltenders saw plenty of rubber, with the Hillers taking a 39-27 advantage. Geresti led the winning effort with four points (1 G, 3 A) while Cowden had three (2 G, 1 A). Derek Dearth (1 G, 1 A) and Ryan Gossett (2 A) paced the Maroon Knights. Zach Kagle shined in net with 25 saves in the victory.

UPCOMING MSA BROADCASTS

12/1/14 – Class B – Upper St. Clair “B” Panthers vs. Blackhawk Cougars @ Beaver Ice Arena … The Cougars (3-4-0) and Panthers (1-5-0) have both struggled out of the gate, but the former is much closer to being a playoff team, and the goal differential of 20 for and 23 against shows it. Grant Rombold leads Blackhawk offensively with seven goals, five assists and 12 points. Corey Steinle has been the one and only goaltender thus far, posting a 3.29 GAA and solid 0.912 save percentage. Meanwhile, USC’s goal differential is 12 for and 40 against. Michael Daley has contributed three assists and four points while three different players have managed two goals apiece. The puck drops at 9:00 PM with Don Rebel and Mike Azadian on the call

12/4/14 – Class A – Quaker Valley Quakers vs. Mars Fighting Planets @ Bladerunners in Warrendale … Like most recent seasons, the Planets (8-1-0) and Quakers (8-1-0) find themselves atop the Class A standings. Unlike recent history, though, they are not alone, nor do they lead all statistical categories. Mars is the number two offense (68 GF), though, and tied as the second best defense (21 GA). Kyle Thomas leads the team with 13 assists and 22 points, Keaton Hanna is tops with 12 goals and Paul Maust has four power play tallies. Tyler Spreng has played every minute between the pipes, posting a 2.33 GAA, 0.865 save percentage and two shutouts. Meanwhile, Quaker Valley boasts the number three offense in the class (64 GF) and top defense (18 GA). Adam Pilewicz has paced the Quakers in goals (18), assists (21) and points (39) while Connor Quinn has played a strong second banana (14 G, 19 A). Parker Sherry has again seen the bulk of the minutes in net, posting a 5-1-0 record, 1.34 GAA, 0.935 save percentage and three shutouts. The puck drops at 8:00 PM with Matt Vandriak and Sean Meyers on the call while Jess Levo will man the video camera.

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 the tenth season premiere of “The PIHL Power Play” this Wednesday night at 8:00. Joining us this week will be new PIHL Commissioner Jim Black and longtime Meadville head coach Jamie Plunkett. Your home for the 2015 Penguins Cup Playoffs is the MSA Sports Network!