Ringgold beats Bishop Canevin in overtime thriller in PIHL Varsity D2 title game

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Wednesday, March 22, 2023 | 2:00 AM


There’s no such thing as a bad shot in overtime – a point Ringgold’s Caden Doran proved in the PIHL Varsity Division 2 championship game Tuesday night at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

Doran scored on a shot from just inside the blue line 9:58 into the extra period as Ringgold defeated Bishop Canevin, 4-3.

“This is the second time in five years that we’ve won this cup,” Ringgold coach Rick Kalinowkski said. “It feels the same as it did the first time.”

The Rams came out of the gate hot, with Ken Cadwallader scoring a power play goal at the 2:43 mark. Trent Hawk added a goal at the 7:12 mark of the first period, which gave Ringgold a quick 2-0 lead. Hawk finished the night with a goal and two assists.

On a power play at 12:44 into the period, Ryan Saginaw scored the only first period goal for the Crusaders. Saginaw also finished the night with three points.

The Rams’ 2-1 lead held until late in the second period, when Ty Serakowski scored at the 16:29 mark. The goal came after a long stretch of offensive zone time for the Crusaders, tying the game 2-2.

“We started playing passive and not being aggressive with the puck,” Kalinowkski said. “We were letting pucks come to us.”

Cadwallader scored his second goal just 4:51 into the third period. Cole Evans tied the game again, however, at the 16:15 mark of the third, as the resilient Crusaders continued to fight.

“They’re a good team,” Kalinowkski said. “Their system plays really good. At times we were all over the ice. We rebounded well.”

Prior to the Doran’s overtime winner, the sudden-death period saw stretches of slow play, with many tired players. Kalinowkski was proud of his team’s ability to keep fighting.

“Caden Doran was on the ice for two of those (Bishop Canevin) goals, and he floated one in to get the game-winner. We were matching lines with them and they were matching with us. We only used two lines in the third period and overtime. Endurance helped out. We had that extra effort. It was fantastic.”

Bishop Canevin, which also lost in the finals last year, outshot Ringgold in the game 38-31. Dom Frizzi made 27 saves on 31 shots for the Crusaders, while Collin Moffett stopped 35 of 38 shots for the Rams. Each team finished 1 for 3 on power-play opportunities.

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