PIHL Notebook – 12/14/2015

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, December 14, 2015 | 1:07 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 Class AA team notching its first victory while a Division 2 powerhouse suffers its first loss. Last but not least, we round things out with a preview of upcoming MSA broadcasts, including a battle of two red-hot teams in Class AA. 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 (6-0-4); Canon-McMillan (4-0-2); Erie Cathedral Prep (2-0-1)

Class AA: Latrobe (6-0-1); Moon (4-0-1); Mount Lebanon (3-0-0); Plum (2-0-1)

Class A: West Allegheny (11-0-0); Montour (5-0-1); Thomas Jefferson (4-0-0)

Division 2: Beaver (7-0-0); Elizabeth Forward (3-0-0)

SCOREBOARD WATCH:

Class AAA

12/8/15 – Peters Township 2, Pittsburgh Central Catholic 2 (OT) … Cal Raymore got the Indians (6-0-4) on the board 9:25 into the first period with a power play goal. Sam Delucia tied things up for the Vikings (5-4-1) just 3:17 into the second, but Will Barnes put Peters back on top at the 10:56 mark. It stayed that way until 11:18 of the third when Ryan Haag pulled Central even again, and both defenses tightened up from there. Raymore and Barnes both added assists for the Indians while Caden Shell made 30 saves to give Peters its fourth tie in 10 games. Nathaniel Cava was the better goaltender, though, making 37 saves for Central.

Class AA

12/10/15 – Norwin 6, North Hills 4 … This one stayed scoreless until the 16:28 mark of the first when Bryce Hegedus struck first for the Knights (1-10-0). Jesse Weideman and Gannon Warrick put the Indians (4-7-0) ahead by the 4:56 mark of period two, but Shawn Ward buried a pair before Hegedus lit the lamp again at 12:26, making it 4-2 Norwin at the break. Warrick at even strength and Shea Jones on the power play evened things up for North Hills at 5:42 of the third. It stayed that way for a while, but Daniel Kiester’s goal with the man advantage at 13:00 and insurance from David Hendler 1:16 later propelled the Knights to their first win of the season. The Indians led in shots 32-26 while getting two assists each from John Seibert, Anthony Pelligreno, and Sam Urbanek. Norwin got the same output from Brandon Butler.

Class A

12/8/15 – Franklin Regional 6, South Fayette 4 … A scoreless game for much of the first period quickly turned into a 2-1 lead for the Panthers (9-2-0) in a 1:21 span, including goals from Ethan Bennett and Aaron Bartifay while Jeremy Anthos tallied for the Lions (8-3-0). Cameron Huffman pushed it to a two-goal lead just 3:39 into the second, but South Fayette scored the next three from Brandon Poage, Jacob Stack, and then Spencer Barber on the power play at the 16:25 mark. Franklin Regional responded well in the third, though, taking the period 3-0 on the way to victory courtesy of Nicholas Carretta on the power play along with James Mauro and Oldrich Virag at even strength. Those last three goals came less than three minutes apart, and the Panthers dominated the shots column 27-17.

Division 2

12/7/15 – Meadville 4, Carrick 1 … The Bulldogs (7-3-0) got all the offense they would need in the first 17 minutes and wound up handing the Cougars (9-2-0) their first loss of 2015-16, and first regular season defeat since February 20, 2014. Alec Gizzle and Jeffrey Millin got those first two goals just 28 seconds apart. Jacob Speicher got Carrick on the board just six seconds in period two, but Cody Passilla rebuilt the two-goal lead for Meadville at 13:58, and Trevor Johnson put the final nail in the coffin at 8:35 of the third. The Cougars were outshot 27-14, but Sam Kineston posted the better save percentage with 13 stops for the Bulldogs.

UPCOMING MSA BROADCASTS

12/14/15 – Class AA – Plum Mustangs vs. Mount Lebanon Blue Devils @ Mount Lebanon Ice Arena … The Mustangs (7-3-1) are riding a three-game unbeaten streak while the Blue Devils (5-6-0) have won three straight. Plum has been stingy on defense, ranking third in the class with 29 goals allowed, led by backstop Nathan Puhala (6-2-1, 2.64 GAA, 0.901 SV%, 1 SO). The offense has totaled 46 goals with Anthony Borriello (5 G, 16 A), Dillon Joyce (10 G, 2 PP, 1 SH, 3 GW, 9 A), and Nolan Puhala (10 G, 4 PP, 1 GW, 7 A) setting the tone. Mount Lebanon hasn’t been too shabby in its own end, allowing 36 goals so far, good for sixth in the class, with starter Ryan Wessbecher (5-6-0, 2.92 GAA, 0.895 SV%, 1 SO) playing all but 24 minutes so far. Meanwhile, Benjamin McGraw (6 G, 1 PP, 7 A) and Griffin Nelson (8 G, 1 GW, 3 A) lead an attack which has left the team with an even goal differential. The puck drops at 7:10 PM with Sean Meyers and Kyle Dawson 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 Kevin Zielmanski host another episode of “The PIHL Power Play” this Wednesday night at 8:00. Joining us this week will be South Fayette forward Spencer Barber and Plum head coach Vince Somma. Your home for the 2016 Penguins Cup Playoffs is the MSA Sports Network!