PIHL Penguins Cup Recaps – Wednesday, March 12th

By: Bruce Markey
Wednesday, March 12, 2014 | 10:54 PM

There was little separation all season between South Hills rivals Bethel Park and Peters Township. so it comes as no surprise that the two decorated programs will collide for a 2014 high school hockey crown as both were impressive Wednesday night registering convincing victories. here are recaps from both of the PIHL Penguins Cup Class AAA Semifinals played Wednesday night and setting up Championship Monday at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh.

PIHL PENGUINS CUP CLASS AAA SEMIFINALS:

Bethel Park Black Hawks 4 – Pine-Richland Rams 0

Top-seeded Bethel Park played an end-to-end competitive game with 6th seeded Pine-Richland for two periods Wednesday night at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center, but when the third period came around, the Black Hawks proved to be too much for the Rams, winning the Class AAA semifinal game 4-0 and advancing to the Penguins Cup finals Monday.

Both teams had their chances through the first two periods of play. Bethel Park had the better of the sustained offensive pressure through the first two, but Pine-Richland had offensive opportunities. Rams goaltender Isaac Stephen and Black Hawks netminder William Lowe each made key saves to keep the game scoreless through two periods.

Bethel Park finally got on the board early in the 3rd thanks to a Pine-Richland penalty that carried over from the 2nd period. A Michael Carozzi’s checking from behind minor led to a Bethel Park power play, and it was the Black Hawks leading scorer, Chris Siak, who finally tickled the twine, breaking a scoreless tie with a beautiful shot from the right point. Derek Lesnak and Jake Worcester picked up assists on the goal 58 seconds into the 3rd.

It didn’t take the Black Hawks much longer to get their second tally of the game. That goal came 1:05 after the first goal as Jake Worcester buried the puck into an open cage off a Derek Lesnak shot at the 2:03 mark of the third. The Black Hawks started to assert their defensive dominance as well with Pine-Richland’s opportunities few and far between in the final frame.

Siak was not done, his second goal of the night came at the 3:23 mark of the third as he walked in on Stephen from the right wing and beat the Pine-Richland netminder for another pretty goal to make it 3-0 Black Hawks. Evan Oakley tallied an assist.

It was just under two minutes later with Bethel Park on another power play that Worcester picked up his second goal of the game as once again he buried it into an open cage, this time off a shot from Spencer Bawcom. That made it 4-0 and put the Black Hawks in firm control the rest of the game. Siak picked up an assist on the final tally of the night.

Lowe was very impressive for Bethel Park in net, pitching a shutout and making 24 saves. There were stretches when he was not strongly challenged, but Lowe made some big stops early on to keep Pine-Richland off the board. He also made an incredible save on the Rams’ Andrew Vislosky in the closing minutes to preserve a shutout.

Bethel Park, two years removed from a Penguins Cup title, will have a chance at another championship Monday night at Consol Energy Center after an impressive semifinal win over a talented Pine-Richland squad.

Score by Period:
Bethel Park Black Hawks : 0-0-4=4
Pine-Richland Rams : 0-0-0=0

Shots:
Bethel Park: 40
Pine-Richland 24

Bladerunners Scoring Summary:

1st Period:
No Scoring

2nd Period:
No Scoring

3rd Period:
(0:58) Bethel Park – Christian Siak    (Derek Lesnak, Jake Worcester) PPG
(2:03) Bethel Park – Jake Worcester (Derek Lesnak)
(3:23) Bethel Park – Christian Siak (2) (Evan Oakley)
(5:18) Bethel Park – Jake Worcester (2) (Spencer Baucom, Christian Siak)

Goaltenders:
Bethel Park: William Lowe, 24 saves on 24 shots
Pine-Richland: Isaac Stephen, 36 saves on 40 shots

Power Plays:
Bethel Park (2/4)
Pine-Richland (0/2)

Management Science Associates 3 Stars of the Game:
3. Jake Worcester (Bethel Park) two goals, one assist
2. William Lowe (Bethel Park) 24 saves, shutout
1. Christian Siak (Bethel Park) two goals, one assist

Mt. Lebanon Rec Center Play of the Game:
Christian Siak’s game-winner from the right point 58 seconds into the 3rd period on the power play

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Peters Township Indians 6 – Penn-Trafford Warriors 1

Peters Township scored two goals within :33 seconds in the first period on the first two shots of the game, then scored two third period goals on consecutive shots within :16 seconds on their way to a 6-1 convincing victory over the Penn Trafford Warriors. They will make their 4th consecutive trip to the finals at Consol Energy Center and hope to break a 3 year championship game losing streak.

At the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center The Indians Jonathan Dagnal scored from the slot at 1:17 to make it 1-0 Peters. He would score on his next shot on a wrap around goal to make it  2-0. However the Warriors would out play and be the better team the rest of the period, but would not score due to the marvelous efforts by Peters Goalie Brian Baker. He made four brilliant saves to keep Penn Trafford off the score board. The Warriors were short handed as they had to play with out their top player and the top scorer in AAA Jacob Miller. He was out for undisclosed reasons.

The second period looked like the Warriors might break thru and make a game of it as they started out the period strong. But a  Penn Traffford penalty was costly as the Indians would get a power play goal by Carter Ekberg on a shot from the point at 3:32. This un nerved Penn Trafford as they fell apart from here. Peters would score again at 12:04 as Gavin Rebholz took a loose puck in front and beat Warrior goalie Eric Phelps to make it  4-0. Penn Trafford had hope as they scored at 16:06 on a goal by Cam Williams. He got his own rebound on the rush, and put a loose puck in from the left side to make it 4-1.

The third period was all Peters. Defense was the name of the game as they continued their dominance. Statistically they are the 2nd best defensive team on goals against in AAA and they shut down the Warriors. They would score on two consecutive shots for the second time in the game. First at 2:52 Jonathan Dagnal got the hat trick with a shot from the high slot to make it 5-1. Then only :16 seconds later Matt Amelio would get a pretty goal  at 3:08 to make the final score 6-1.

The Indians will play section rival the Bethel Park Blackhawks the top defensive team in AAA,  in the title game on Monday March 17th at Consol Energy Center at 9:00 PM on the MSA SPORTS NETWORK. These two teams split the season series, both winning on the other teams home ice.

Score By Period:
Penn Trafford Warriors : 0-1-0 = 1
Peters Township Indians : 2-2-2 =6

Shots:
Penn Trafford: 13-16-7=36
Peters Township: 9-10-15=34

Bladeruners Scoring Summary:

First Period:
1:17:   P Twp   Jonathan Dagnal  (Adam Alavi)
1:50:   P Twp   Jonathan Dagnal  (Samuel Barnes)

Second Period:
3:32:   P Twp   Carter Ekberg   Power Play (Adam Alavi, Jonathan Dagnal)
12:04: P Twp   Gavin Rebholz  (Jacob Dachille, Zach Gielarowski)
16:06: P Traf    Cam Williams  (Jonah Graffius)

Third Period:
2:52:  P Twp  Jonathan Dagnal  (Adam Alavi, Carter Ekberg)
3:08:  P Twp  Matt Amelio  (Brady Cochrane, Zach Gielarowski)

Goaltenders:
Penn Trafford: Eric Phelps (34 shots,28 saves)
Peters Township: Brian Baker (36 shots, 35 saves)

Power Plays:
Penn Trafford: (0-5)
Peters Twp:  (1-4)

Management Associates Three Stars:
1.  Jonathan Dagnal  P Twp (3G, 1A)
2.  Brian Baker  P Twp (35 saves on 36 shots)
3.  Adam Alavi  P twp  (2A)

Mount Lebanon Rec Center Play of the Game:
Carter Ekberg’s goal at 3;32 of the second period.Into the second period with Peters Township holding a 2-0 lead, Penn Trafford had out played them most of the 1st and now early in the second and were peppering the Peters goalie. However the warriors took a penalty and the Indians scored a power play goal to make it 3-0., This play cemented the Peters lead, and took the wind out of the Warriors. From this point on the Indians dominated the game.

Tags: Bethel Park