PIHL Notebook – 12/07/2015

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, December 7, 2015 | 1:58 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 an overtime thriller in Class AAA and winless team erasing that goose egg in Division 2. Last but not least, we round things out with a preview of upcoming MSA broadcasts, including a battle between two red-hot teams 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: Peters Township (6-0-3); Canon-McMillan (3-0-2); Shaler (3-0-0)

Class AA: Latrobe (4-0-0); Moon (4-0-0); Armstrong (3-0-0)

Class A: West Allegheny (9-0-0); Montour (3-0-1); South Fayette (3-0-0); Thomas Jefferson (3-0-0)

Division 2: Carrick (9-0-0); Beaver (6-0-0)

SCOREBOARD WATCH:

Class AAA

12/1/15 – Pittsburgh Central Catholic 5, North Allegheny 4 (OT) … Jake Tepe scored the only goal of the first period, putting the Vikings (5-4-0) on top at the 9:25 mark. The Tigers (4-3-1) scored the next two just 1:54 into the second, but Antonio Misiti tied it back up shorthanded at 9:43, and then Tepe made it 3-2 at 15:27. North Allegheny got a power play tally from Dawson Richard at 3:55 of the third, his second goal of the night, and then Shane Gezzi got what his squad hoped was the winner at 7:32. It almost was, but Ryan Haag sent the game into overtime with 1:56 to play, setting the stage for Sam Delucia at 2:59 of the extra frame. Tepe finished with three points (2 G, 1 A) while Cameron Zahn and Joe Zappia each picked up two assists in the losing effort. The Tigers doubled up the Vikings in shots 44-22, but Nathan Cava made 40 saves to pick up the win.

Class AA

12/3/15 – Latrobe 4, Baldwin 3 … The Highlanders (5-5-0) scored a goal in each period, including two from Paul Knerr, one of them shorthanded. They also managed to shut out the Wildcats (8-2-0) in the first and third. The problem came in the second as Latrobe scored all four of its goals, with the winner coming from the stick of Brendan Johns at the 15:41 mark. Johns, Cole Novak, and Cory Gates each contributed one goal and one assist to the victory. Baldwin controlled the shots column 32-28, but Ryan Pal turned aside 29 of them to earn the win.

Class A

12/4/15 – South Park 7, Westmont Hilltop 3 … In a game heard right here on the MSA Sports Network, the Eagles (6-4-0) scored the first four goals on the way to victory over the Hilltoppers (3-6-0). Hunter Lanetz netted the winner shorthanded at 10:09 of the second period. Lanetz ended the night with three points (2 G, 1 A), as did Jacob Hickey (1 G, 2 A) and Michael Marynchak (3 A). Nate Shorto paced Westmont with two goals, one of them on the power play. South Park was outshot 37-30, but Trevor Schlater stopped 34 pucks.

Division 2

12/3/15 – John Marshall 9, Keystone Oaks 6 … It was 3-3 after 17 minutes of action, but the Monarchs took the second period 3-1 and the third by a 3-2 margin to pick up their first victory of the season. The Golden Eagles were deadly on the power play, scoring four of their six goals in that manner. Eugene Barilla (1 G, 2 A), Stephen Plank (1 G, 2 A), and Josh Gunia (1 G, 1 A) led the Keystone Oaks attack. Seven players registered multiple points for John Marshall, led by Luke Neary (2 G, 2 A) and Nicholas Fitzpatrick (2 G, 1 A). For all the goals scored, the shot count was relatively low, with the Monarchs taking a slight 32-27 advantage.

UPCOMING MSA BROADCASTS

12/7/15 – Class A – Freeport Yellowjackets vs. Montour Spartans @ RMU Sports Complex … The Yellowjackets (7-1-0) are 4-1-0 in their last five, including two straight wins, while the Spartans (7-1-1) are enjoying a four-game unbeaten streak as noted above. Freeport brings the fifth-best offense (62 GF) and defense (32 GA) to the table. Robert Reichenbaugh (14 G, 1 PP, 2 SH, 1 GW, 17 A) leads the former while Katelyn Hill (4-1-0, 4.20 GAA, 0.862 SV%) has seen the bulk of the minutes in net. Montour ranks just ahead of its opponent with 65 goals scored while tying for second in the class with 21 allowed. Camron Smith (6 G, 2 PP, 1 SH, 2 GW, 15 A) tops the team with 21 points while goalie Arn Criswell (4-0-1, 1.96 GAA, 0.908 SV%) has put up impressive numbers. The puck drops at 7:10 PM with Steve Nagler and Corey Campano on the call.

12/7/15 – Class AAA – Bethel Park Black Hawks vs. Seneca Valley Raiders @ Baierl Ice Center … The Black Hawks (4-4-1) have dropped four in a row while the Raiders (5-40) have not fared much better, coming off a loss and going 2-3-0 in their last five games. Neither team has been spectacular, but then few have in this parity-filled classification. Thanks mostly to the recent stretch Bethel has a minus-five goal differential, but Antonio Esposito (5 G, 1 PP 1 SH, 3 A) leads a group trying to change that while goaltender William Lowe (3-3-1, 2.56 GAA, 0.884 SV%) has been solid. Seneca boasts a plus-six goal differential by comparison, led by Christopher Lipnicky (5 G, 1 PP, 7 A) up front and Alyssa Peterson (4-3-0, 2.83 GAA, 0.900 SV%, 1 SO) between the pipes. The puck drops at 9:00 PM with Josh Rowntree and Lee Mohn on the call.

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 Indiana head coach Jordan Haines and Canon-McMillan forward Luke Lavella. Your home for the 2016 Penguins Cup Playoffs is the MSA Sports Network!