PIHL Penguins Cup playoff previews: Games of Tuesday, March 8, 2022

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, March 7, 2022 | 4:48 PM

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Tuesday’s games

Class 2A

Quarterfinals

5-Meadville (12-7) vs. 4-Penn-Trafford (15-4)

8:30 p.m. at Palmer Imaging, Delmont

Winner plays: Winner of 8-Hempfield/1-Thomas Jefferson in semifinals, 7 p.m. March 15 at Robert Morris University Island Sports Center, Neville Township

Ice chips: Meadville finished third in the West Division behind Thomas Jefferson and South Fayette with 24 points. It already owns a 6-3 win over Penn-Trafford as Michael Mahoney scored four goals, including two on the power play. He also assisted on two scores. Mahoney leads 2A with 56 points and 33 goals. Teammate Rocco Tartaglione has 16 goals and 12 assists. … Penn-Trafford has six wins in its last seven games as it looks to jump-start a playoff run. The Warriors are tied for third in 2A with South Fayette with 97 goals. Nate Loughner has 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points, Ryan Crombie is next with 25 points (15/10) and Xavier Solomon has 22 (9/13). Jackson Kerrigan has 431 saves in net for the Warriors.

7-Butler (6-12) vs. 2-Franklin Regional (16-2)

6:30 p.m. at Palmer Imaging, Delmont

Winner plays: Winner of 6-Armstrong/3-South Fayette in semifinals, 9 p.m. March 15 at Robert Morris University Island Sports Center, Neville Township

Ice chips: Butler saw some midseason momentum still away as it lost 6 of 7 to end the regular season, including four in a row. The Golden Tornado lost to Franklin Regional, 7-4, during that stretch. Butler has given up 104 goals, 51 of them in the second period. Brody Simko is one of the better scorers in the classification. He has 40 points (20 goals, 20 assists). Kyle Grasha and Parker Worsley have 14 goals apiece. … Franklin Regional, the Penguin Cup runner-up last season, leads all 2A teams with 125 goals. The East Division-winning Panthers have scored seven or more goals 10 times. Chase Williams is the team’s top scorer with 47 points, including 34 assists. Five players, including Williams (13), have double-digit goals. They are Zach Abdallah (18), Zach Zeto (16), Matty Knizer (15) and Luke Lavrich (15). The Panthers won Penguin Cups in 2016 and ’17.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Butler, Franklin Regional, Penn-Trafford