PIHL Notebook – 12/20/2016

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, December 20, 2016 | 4:08 PM

In the spirit of the holidays, the PIHL Notebook gives thanks for the exciting three months of PIHL action so far, and the next few months should produce more fantastic action. With Christmas and New Years on the horizon, the slate of games is particularly light for the next few weeks, with contests only being played tonight and on Thursday, followed by a league-wide break until Jan. 2.

Melting the Ice (the top winning streaks in each classification)

AAA: Peters Township/Canon-McMillan (3-0-0) – Lengthy winning streaks are hard to come by in Class AAA, as evidenced by both the Indians and Big Macs boasting three-game surges to lead the classification currently. The streak for Peters Township has it just a point behind North Allegheny for the top spot, as the Indians notched consecutive 7-1 wins against Pine-Richland and Armstrong, followed by edging the Rams 3-2 in the rematch last week. Canon-Mac, meanwhile, is still under .500 for the season, but wins against Peters Township, Pine-Richland and Armstrong have the Big Macs in the thick of the playoff hunt.

AA: Quaker Valley (8-0-0) – The Quakers maintain the top winning streak in Class AA, courtesy of their 2-1 home win against Plum on Thursday. Because of consecutive losses to open the campaign, though, Quaker Valley currently sits in third in its division, behind Mount Lebanon and Moon, teams that haven’t tasted defeated in their past seven and six games, respectively.

A: Franklin Regional (10-0-0) – Last week, Franklin Regional and Indiana shared the top winning streak in Class A, but the Panthers prevailed when the teams met on Thursday. Franklin Regional scored a convincing 7-2 road triumph, putting the defending Penguins Cup Champions in the driver’s seat for the top spot of the East Division. A tilt against struggling Norwin remains the only hurdle for the Panthers taking their perfect mark into the new year.

D2: Meadville (12-0-0) – Meadville remains atop of list of streaks in Division II, as the Bulldogs were dormant since last Monday. While Meadville has reached a dozen straight victories in Class B, a pair of teams in Class C have enjoyed stellar streaks, too. Burrell and Kennedy Catholic have not tasted defeat in their 11 decisions, with each squad going 9-0-2, tying in both of the head-to-head matchups.

Under Review (weekly team spotlight)

Kiski Area – A year ago, the Cavs returned to the varsity level after a sabbatical, and Kiski Area qualified for the postseason in the process, with a mark of 8-14-0. Still in December, the Cavs have already eclipsed last year’s win total, and even more impressive, the team has surpassed its goal production for all of last year, too.

While the Cavs have proven their scoring depth in 2016-17, it’s easy to see who leads the way. Austin LaPiana leads the squad in both goals and assists, with 22 and 11, respectively. Those numbers were tremendously boosted by an incredible performance he had against Greensburg Salem, when he scored eight goals and added a pair of assists. He ranks first in Class A in goals, and tied for third in points. After playing exclusively for his travel team last season, LaPiana’s decision to join the Cavs has been perhaps the biggest reason for the team’s massive improvement.

Aside from the junior forward, other key contributors have included forwards James Ayres, Brandon Stephens and Nicholas Hurley, as well as blueliner Justin Shepherd. Meanwhile, Alexander Ferraro has played every minute between the pipes, sporting a 2.33 GAA and .913 save percentage, along with three shutouts.

After a 6-1 triumph against Freeport last night, Kiski Area will not return to action until Jan. 2. Despite their stellar record (10-2-0), the Cavs still have some big tests remaining, including rematches with the two teams that defeated the Cavs, Indiana and Franklin Regional. Also on the schedule is a road test against Westmont Hilltop. Strong performances in those contests could help establish Kiski Area as a legitimate Penguins Cup contender.

Quotable (excerpt from a recent MSA Center Stage)

“After last year, losing in the Penguins Cup (semifinals), it was kind of a wake-up call. We all wanted more. This year, we came to play.”

Ryan Kingerski of Central Catholic after his team’s 5-2 win against Butler on Dec. 19. The entire interview can be seen here:

Top-Shelf Trivia

Since the inception of Division 2 (formerly the Open Division), which two teams have captured multiple championships in that classification? The answer will be revealed in next week’s notebook.

Last week’s trivia answer: Baldwin

Slapshots on Slate (upcoming MSA Sports broadcasts)

With the holiday season in full swing, MSA Sports will not feature any PIHL broadcasts until 2017. Hopefully this installment of the notebook acted as another gift underneath the tree, though, and can help hold over the fans until “The Network” is back on the ice in January.

That’s all for this edition of the PIHL Notebook, but check back every Tuesday for the latest installment. Also, the PIHL Power Play Show tomorrow will feature an interviews with Butler head coach Cory Sakolsky, and Plum player Nolan Puhala. Josh Rowntree and Kevin Zielmanski host the show, which airs at 8 p.m. Additionally, on Wednesday, Jan. 18, the Power Play Show will exclusively reveal the PIHL All-Star rosters for the game to be played on Jan. 29 at the Alpha Ice Complex in Harmarville.