PIHL season preview: Seneca Valley, Avonworth out to defend Penguins Cup titles

By: Don Rebel
Monday, September 29, 2025 | 6:01 PM

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The puck drops Monday night on the longest season in high school sports with the start of the 2025-26 PIHL hockey campaign with 12 varsity games.

Each year, realignment comes to the PIHL, but there was not a lot of movement up and down between the classes this offseason.

Seneca Valley, Cathedral Prep, Avonworth and Morgantown are trying to repeat, a feat that has only been accomplished twice this decade: Peters Township in 3A in 2022 and ’23 and Neshannock in Division 2 in 2021 and ’22.

Here’s a look at the 2025-26 PIHL season:

Class 3A

2024-25 Penguins Cup championship: Seneca Valley 3, South Fayette 2 (3OT)

2024-25 Pennsylvania Cup championship: Seneca Valley 7, Holy Ghost Prep 2

Alignment: Central Catholic, Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, Mt. Lebanon, North Allegheny, Peters Township, Pine-Richland, Seneca Valley, South Fayette, Thomas Jefferson, Upper St. Clair

Ice chips

• Seneca Valley won its second PIHL Penguins Cup 3A title by beating South Fayette in a final that became an instant classic with the Raiders edging the Lions in triple overtime, 3-2. Marshall Hewitt scored the golden goal less than five minutes into the third OT. It was the Raiders’ first PIHL title since 2018. A week later, they hoisted gold again by knocking off perennial Flyers Cup winner Holy Ghost Prep.

• For a second straight season, there will be 11 teams skating in the PIHL’s highest classification. The only change with realignment came when Bethel Park fell while the Class 2A runner-up a year ago, Fox Chapel, moved into 3A.

• Seneca Valley is trying to become only the third team this century to win the 3A Penguins Cup in back-to-back years. Bethel Park did it in 2000-2002 and Peters Township won consecutive crowns in 2022 and 2023.

• Of the 11 teams in 3A, only Central Catholic and Fox Chapel have not won a PIHL hockey championship in the last 20 years.

• In the chase for the 3A regular season title, Seneca Valley and Mt. Lebanon ended up tied for first place with 43 points each, 10 points ahead of third-place North Allegheny. It was a rare playoff miss for Peters Township, which they lost the tiebreaker for eighth place to Pine-Richland.

Class 2A

2024-25 Penguins Cup championship: Cathedral Prep 5, Fox Chapel 4 (OT)

2024-25 Pennsylvania Cup championship: North Penn 4, Cathedral Prep 1

Alignment: Armstrong, Baldwin, Bethel Park, Bishop McCort, Cathedral Prep, Hempfield, Latrobe, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Shaler, Wheeling Park

Ice chips

• Cathedral Prep in Erie celebrated the 10-year anniversary of its previous PIHL hockey championship in 2015 with another title. It wasn’t easy, though, as the Ramblers needed overtime to edge Fox Chapel in the finals. Ethen Cunningham completed his title game hat trick with a golden goal in overtime to beat the Foxes.

• The classification is up one to 11 teams this winter. Last year’s runner-up, Fox Chapel, moved up to Class 3A and Canon-McMillan dropped to Class A. New this season is Bethel Park, down from 3A, along with Shaler and Wheeling Park up from Class A.

• Since Cathedral Prep’s last title run in 2015, Class 2A has produced eight different champions in nine years. (There was no postseason due to covid in 2020). The only team to win twice in 2A was Thomas Jefferson taking gold in 2022 and 2024.

• North Penn won the Class 2A PA Cup state championship in March with a three-goal victory over Cathyedral Prep. The Ramblers won a state title in 2015. Since then, the only Penguins Cup champions to win state titles have been Pine-Richland in 2019, Baldwin in 2021 and South Fayette in 2023.

• Fox Chapel claimed the Class 2A regular season championship last season, finishing three points ahead of Cathedral Prep and four points in front of both Latrobe and Penn-Trafford.

Class A

2024-25 Penguins Cup championship: Avonworth 7, Mars 1

2024-25 Pennsylvania Cup championship: Garnet Valley 7, Avonworth 2

Alignment

Blue Division: Beaver, Blackhawk, Canon-McMillan, Freeport, Hampton, Indiana, Meadville, Montour, Moon, North Catholic, Quaker Valley, Richland

Gold Division: Avonworth, Butler, Chartiers Valley, Greensburg Salem, Mars, North Hills, Plum, South Park, West Allegheny, Westmont Hilltop, Wheeling Catholic

Ice chips

• The only Penguins Cup championship game not to go into overtime was won by surprising Avonworth. The Antelopes finished sixth in Class A overall in points during the regular season but went on a surprise playoff run with wins over Blackhawk, Quaker Valley and Moon before rolling past Mars for the school’s first hockey championship.

• There are 23 teams in Class A this season and once again, the class breaks down into two divisions: 12 teams in the Blue Division and 11 schools in the Gold Division. Canon-McMillan and South Park are new to Class A, while gone are Shaler, Wheeling Park, Kiski and McDowell.

• From 2009-2014, there were only two Class A champs. Mars won three straight in 2009-11, then Quaker Valley captured three consecutive crowns in 2012-14. Since then, only Franklin Regional in 2016 and 2017 repeated as PIHL Penguins Cup Class A winners.

• With Garnet Valley winning the PA Cup in 2025, the Class A drought from the west is now up to 13 years. The last time a Penguins Cup champ went on to win the state title in Class A was Quaker Valley in 2012.

• Chartiers Valley won the Gold Division title last season by three points over Quaker Valley. Moon edged Mars by two points to win the Blue Division crown.

Division 2

2024-25 PIHL championship: Morgantown 5, Burrell 1

2024-25 D-2 state championship: Burrell 8, Pope John Paul II 3

Alignment

Blue Division: Burrell, Carrick, Neshannock, Ringgold, Sewickley Academy, Trinity, Wilmington

Gold Division: Central Valley, Connellsville, Deer Lakes, Elizabeth Forward, Knoch, McDowell, Morgantown (W.Va.)

Ice chips

• Morgantown knocked off Burrell in the PIHL finals to win its first Division 2 hockey championship and end a run of three championships in four years for Neshannock. The title for the Mohigans marked the third time a school from West Virginia claimed the Division 2 title. Wheeling Catholic won it all in 2008 and John Marshall in 2011.

• Because Morgantown was outside of PA, it was not eligible to play in the first PIHL D2 state championship, won by Burrell over Pope John Paul II by five goals.

• This season, instead of three, the PIHL is going back to two divisions of seven teams each.

• McDowell is new to D2, coming down from Class A, while Bishop Canevin and Gateway are out.