PIHL Notebook – 12/08/2014

By: Bruce Markey
Monday, December 8, 2014 | 3:06 PM

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 surprising tie in Class AAA and one team picking up its first victory of the season in Class A. Last but not least, we round things out with a preview of upcoming MSA broadcasts, including a classic match-up in Class A. So, let’s light the lamp on this edition of “PIHL Notebook.”

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

Class AAA: North Allegheny (5-0-2); Butler (2-0-1); Canon-McMillan (2-0-1); Peters Township (2-0-1); Upper St. Clair (2-0-1)

Class AA: Shaler (8-0-0); Hampton (3-0-0)

Class A: Quaker Valley (8-0-0); Thomas Jefferson (8-0-0); Deer Lakes (5-0-0); Freeport (5-0-0); Hempfield (5-0-0); Montour (4-0-0)

Class B: Harbor Creek (7-0-0); Indiana (6-0-1); Blackhawk (3-0-0)

Class C: Carrick (10-0-0)
 

SCOREBOARD WATCH:

Class AAA

12/4/14 – Peters Township 1-1-1-0=3, Pittsburgh Central Catholic 1-1-1-0=3 (OT) … The Vikings (2-5-2) matched the Indians (8-1-1) goal for goal, pulling off a surprising tie with the top seed in the class. Antonio Misiti got the tying goal for Central at 9:40 of the third period, his second of the night, while Nicholas Tabaka recorded three assists and Nate Cava made 31 saves. For Peters, Chad Wyatt and Zach Gielarowski each put up one goal and one assist while Ben Mountain notched a pair of helpers and Tony Lejeune turned aside 29 shots.

Class AA

12/4/14 – Latrobe 0-1-1=2, West Allegheny 0-0-1=1 … The Wildcats (3-4-1) and the Indians (4-5-0) traded power play goals from Tanner Shaffer and Brendan Derosky respectively Jacob Halula won it for Latrobe at 10:58 of the third period. The game was extremely tight-checking with Anthony Dominick of West Allegheny matching Timothy Ruppen’s 20 saves, but that one extra shot the Wildcats mustered proved to be enough. Cameron Carr contributed two assists to the winning effort.

Class A

12/5/14 – Wheeling Park 1-4-4=9, South Fayette 0-1-2=3 … The Patriots (1-7-0) picked up their first win of the season against the Lions (2-8-0), scoring eight goals over the final two periods. Hunter Pavelich put up five points (3 G, 2 A), including the winner at 10:10 of the second. Luke Knollinger recorded three points (2 G, 1 SH, 1 A) for Wheeling Park while Shawn Guthoerl (1 G, 1 A), Logan Fugate (1 G, 1 A), Cameron Eberhard (2 A) and Kyle Wensel (2A) each contributed two points to the win. South Fayette got two power play goals from Spencer Barber and two points from Jake Stack (1 G, 1 A). The Patriots took a slight edge in shots 39-36.

Class B

12/2/14 – Peters Township 0-1-3=4, Morgantown 0-2-0=2 … The Indians (5-4-0) trailed 2-1 through two periods, but exploded for three goals in the third to defeat the Mohigans (5-5-1). Conner Gielarowski tied it at 3:10 then won it 13:27. Jack Lang picked up two points (1 G, 1 A), Cal Raymore added three helpers and Wesley Kaylor stopped 24 shots to pick up the win. Morgantown got goals from Cullen Gookin and Kienan Battin, but Peters took a 37-26 edge in shots.

Class C

12/4/14 – OLSH 1-1-1-1=4, Elizabeth Forward 1-2-0-0=3 (OT) … The Chargers (6-3-0) trailed the Warriors (5-3-1) 3-2 entering the final period, and they nearly fell, but Joe Line tied the game to force overtime with just 3:03 to play in regulation. It didn’t take long into the extra frame for OLSH to net the winner, with Josh Carraway lighting the lamp at 1:38. Jacob Boucher powered the Elizabeth Forward attack, recording a hat trick, including a power play goal to open the scoring, while Brian Fulop assisted on two of them. Paul Heflin scored a pair for OLSH while Ethan Weisser’s three assists included one on the deciding goal. The Chargers also outshot the Warriors 31-24.
 

UPCOMING MSA BROADCASTS

12/8/14 – Class A – Bishop McCort Crimson Crushers vs. Serra Catholic Eagles @ Rostraver Ice Garden … The Crimson Crushers (4-5-0) and Eagles (3-6-0) both enter the game in the midst of a losing streak. Bishop McCort has dropped two in a row despite having the fifth-best defense in the class with 31 goals allowed. The offense has struggled, though, scoring just 33 so far. Connor Bunn leads the Crushers in goals (9), assists (8), points (17) and power play goals (3) while Anthony Formica (6 G, 7 A) and Tristan Mock (4 G, 6 A) have also contributed double digits in points. John Bradley has played every minute in net, posting a 3.32 GAA, 0.880 save percentage and three shutouts. Meanwhile, Serra has lost its last three, scoring more goals than its opponent here with 40, but having allowed 50 thus far. Tom Werner is pacing the Eagles in goals (9), assists (9) and points (18) while William Purdue (7 G, 8 A), Jesse Anzelone (4 G, 6 A) and Jonathan Henschel (3 G, 7 A) have hit the 10-point mark. The puck drops at 7:20 PM with Sam Hall and Rob Longo on the call.

12/11/14 – Class B – Meadville Bulldogs vs. Blackhawk Cougars @ Beaver County Ice Arena … The Bulldogs (5-3-0) are coming off a win while the Cougars (4-4-0) have won three straight. Both teams boast strong defenses, with Meadville allowing 22 goals and Blackhawk 23. Offensively, though the road team has the edge 39-24 thus far. Meadville has been led offensively by Trevor Johnson (6 G, 8 A) and Bryan Ray (7 G, 5 A) while Sam Kineston has been the iron man between the pipes, registering a 2.63 GAA, 0.784 save percentage and two shutouts. Grant Rombold (9 G, 6 A) continues to led the Blackhawk attack while Corey Steinle has been the only goaltender of record with a 2.88 GAA, 0.919 save percentage and one shutout on his ledger. The puck drops at 6:45 PM with Mike Azadian and Mark Schaas and call while Don Rebel mans 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 another episode of “The PIHL Power Play” this Wednesday night at 8:00. Joining us this week will be Peters Township goaltender Tony Lejeune and Bishop Canevin head coach Kevin Zielmanski. Your home for the 2015 Penguins Cup Playoffs is the MSA Sports Network!