PIHL Notebook: 2012 MSA Sports All-Icers Team
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Monday, April 2, 2012 | 8:14 AM
Welcome to the final 2011-12 edition of “PIHL Notebook,” your weekly companion to “The PIHL Power Play” on the MSA Sports Network. We conclude our season of coverage as we always do with the unveiling of the “All Icers Team” as voted on by the MSA staff.
2011-12 MSA SPORTS NETWORK “ALL ICERS” – FIRST TEAM
PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Jason Kumpfmiller, Goalie, West Allegheny … This one should come as no surprise. Kumpfmiller tragically lost his mother right before the season started. It would have been understandable for any player to be shaken by this, to have a bad season, or even to pack it in. Not for him, though. He not only persevered, he helped lead the Indians to their first Penguins Cup championship in program history. Before that, he steered his club to the best defense (35 GA) and record in Class AA, which included a 15-game winning streak from November 14 through February 23. Along the way, Kumpfmiller posted a personal mark of 16-2-0 along with a 2.65 GAA, 0.890 save percentage and five shutouts. He remained steady when the postseason hit, stopping 22 shots in a 5-3 semifinal win over Pine-Richland and 17 in the 4-3 overtime thriller against Erie Cathedral Prep at Consol Energy Center.
Dan Maier, Forward, Penn-Trafford … Although Penn-Trafford’s run as the top seed in Class AAA did not end as planned, there is always less shame losing to the eventual champion, in this case Bethel Park in the semifinals. There was also no better scorer in the class this season than Maier, who led his peers with 40 goals, 69 points, 3.63 points per game and six shorthanded markers. He also scored 10 times on the power play, helping the Warriors lead the class with 146 goals. Maier failed to get his name on the score sheet only once while recording at least two points in his final 15 regular season contests. He notched an impressive eight hat tricks, one of them coming in a season-high seven-point effort (3 G, 1 SH, 4 A) on February 10 against Fox Chapel, a 9-5 victory for PT.
Alex Baskakov, Defenseman, Canon-McMillan … There may have been a defenseman or two with more points than this young man, but we challenge anyone to find a defender who plays a more complete game than Baskakov. He can skate. He can (and will) lay down a mean body check. He can quarterback the power play and fire a wicked shot from the point. He is, quite simply, the Kris Letang of Canon-McMillan, a vital cog in getting his team to its third straight appearance in the semifinals, not to mention capturing another Section 1 title. He ranked third on the Big Macs with 12 goals and 25 points while tying for the team lead with five power play goals. Baskakov opened the season with a point in six straight games, helping CM win its first 14 contests. He topped that with a point in his final eight appearances, though, but his best performance came early with a three-goal night to lead an 8-0 defeat of McDowell on November 18.
Justin Sabilla, Forward, Chartiers Valley … Okay, we all know this team is incomplete without the top goal scorer in the league, and Sabilla led the way this season with 53 of them while also leading Class AA with 72 points, a pace of 3.43 per game. It all helped Chartiers Valley capture the Section 2 crown and make its second straight semifinals appearance while leading the classification with 131 goals scored, with Sabilla contributing over 40 percent of that total for those who like to do the math. His six power play goals were actually second on the Colts, but he did set the pace with seven shorthanded markers. He failed to score only once in 21 appearances, starting the season with a nine-game point streak and ending it with an 11-game tear. He brought the hats out of the stands on 10 different occasions, including a season-best seven-point explosion (6 G, 1 PP, 1 A) in defeating Plum 11-3 on January 26.
Heinz Koster, Forward, Kittanning … For the third consecutive campaign, Kittanning’s run ended in the penultimate round of the playoff tournament, but not for a lack of effort from Koster, who led the league with 43 assists and 91 points, a staggering pace of 4.79 points per game. Oh, and his 48 goals led Class A, helping the Wildcats outscore everyone with 152 goals and capture the Section 3 championship. Koster scored eight times on special teams (6 PP, 2 SH), and did not fail to score in 19 regular season outings. He recorded nine hat tricks and put up eight points on three separate occasions, but his best production was 10 points (5 G, 5 A) in defeating Thomas Jefferson 12-4 on December 15.
Doug Simon, Forward, Quigley … The Spartans captured the 2012 Nailers and Open Cup championships, and they could not have done any of it without the classification’s leading scorer. Simon led his peers with 41 assists and 88 points, a 4.40 per game pace. He led Quigley with 47 goals and six shorthanded tallies while also chipping in seven times with the man advantage. It all helped the Spartans lead the class with 150 goals and win the Section 2 title along with their gold medals. Simon registered at least two points in all 20 regular season games, including nine hat tricks, topping out with seven points (4 G, 1 SH, 3 A) in defeating Beaver 11-1 on November 10.
2011-12 MSA SPORTS NETWORK “ALL ICERS” – SECOND TEAM
Alex Blum, Goalie, Bethel Park … We have been through it several times on our show, but it bears mentioning one more time. The Black Hawks went from 3-7-0 at the holiday break to an 11-0-1 run in the second half. Not enough to capture the Section 1 championship, but a run which propelled the top defense in Class AAA (42 GA) to its seventh Penguins Cup victory in program history and first since 2005. As big a part of that performance as anyone was Blum, who put together a personal mark of 12-3-0 while posting a 2.38 GAA, 0.879 save percentage and one shutout. He also more than did his job in the playoffs, stopping 24 shots to defeat Penn-Trafford 3-2 in the semifinals, and then turning aside 23 shots in the 2-1 victory over Peters Township in the gold medal game.
Jonathan Levitt, Forward, West Allegheny … As important as Kumpfmiller was between the pipes all season for the Indians, Levitt was the straw that stirred the offensive drink. He paced the Indians with 27 goals, 46 points, five power play strikes and six shorthanded. He recorded a point in 16 appearances out of 20 and put together a pair of six-game scoring streaks. Levitt also mustered four hat tricks, the first of which came in a season-best six-point effort (3 G, 3 A) to defeat Gateway 10-0 on November 14. Oh, and did we mention he set up the game-winner in overtime against Erie Cathedral Prep to capture the Penguins Cup?
Matt Walsh, Forward, Bishop Canevin … Although the Crusaders cannot be happy with failing to win Section 2 or make it past the quarterfinals this season after winning the 2011 state championship, nobody can put the blame on Walsh. He led his team with 28 goals, 32 assists, 60 points and eight power play tallies. He got his name on the stat sheet in all 21 games, put up three hat tricks and managed seven points (3 G, 4 A) on two separate occasions. Bishop Canevin does have a lot of young talent coming back, but head coach Kevin Zielmanski is unlikely to find a true replacement for the all-around talent and leadership Walsh has brought to the table during his varsity career.
Doug Revak, Goalie, Quaker Valley … The best defense in the PIHL (25 GA) could not have done it without the performance of Revak, who went 9-1-1 with a 1.78 GAA, 0.897 save percentage and one shutout. He was on the ice and made 14 saves when the Quakers defeated Mars 7-0 on February 21, something his team had not accomplished in quite some time. Revak did not have to do as much work as one might expect against offenses like Kittanning and Mars in the playoffs, but he still did his job with 16 saves in defeating the Wildcats 7-1 and then 12 stops to end the Planets’ run of three straight trophies by a 4-2 margin.
Austin Heakins, Forward, Mars … For the first time in three years, Mars did not top the Class A mountain offensively or defensively. Their championship run also ended, and the Planets lack even a section title to mark some measure of satisfaction. Don’t let any of that detract from the individual performance of Heakins, though, a player who will return next season. He led the team with 38 assists and 64 points, a pace of 3.37 per game. Included among his 26 goals were five with the man advantage and a pair while shorthanded. He scored in 17 games out of 19, with his best outing coming in the season opener, an eight-point performance (6 G, 1 PP, 2 A) to defeat Thomas Jefferson 9-5 on November 1.
Sean Beichner, Forward, Greensburg-Salem … The Golden Lions may not be happy with losing the Chiefs Cup to Indians, but it was still an impressive season for them, and nobody had more to do with it than Beichner. He led the class with 51 goals and 10 shorthanded markers while his 73 points led the team. In fact, he accounted for well over 40 percent of Greensburg Salem’s 117 goals. He scored in 13 straight contests to open the season, failing to record a point only once before putting together a six-game streak to close things out. He recorded 10 hat tricks and hit the nine-point mark twice, first against Connellsville on November 21 (6 G, 2 SH, 3 A) and later against Ligonier Valley on January 6 (4 G, 5 A).
That wraps up this season of “PIHL Notebook.” Thanks for reading, and be sure to check back in October for our annual season preview. Your source for the best PIHL coverage is the MSA Sports Network!
Tags: Bethel Park, Bishop Canevin, Canon-McMillan, Chartiers Valley, Greensburg Salem, Kittanning, West Allegheny
