Sewickley Herald notebook: Quaker Valley hockey dominates playoff opener

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, March 1, 2026 | 11:01 AM

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Quaker Valley easily defeated Greensburg Salem, winning by an 8-0 margin in the first round of the PIHL Penguins Cup Class A playoffs Feb. 23 at the Ice Castle in Castle Shannon.

Senior forward Jase Vasbinder collected three goals and two assists for QV, which improved to 19-1-1. Max Modrovich, also a senior forward, scored twice while sophomore forward Matthias Lezama had a goal and three assists.

“We started fast and had multiple lines producing, which was a nice way to start,” QV coach Kevin Quinn said. “The Jace Vasbinder-Kieran Cain-Ben McHenry line played very well. We have tough contest ahead versus Chartiers Valley and will need the same kind of effort.”

Senior forward Ben McHenry and junior forward Kieran Cain accounted for one goal and one assist for the Quakers. On defense, senior Tristan Bemis and junior Jack Watson were each credited with an assist.

Quaker Valley exploded for seven goals in the first period.

Senior goaltender Ian Lorang recorded his seventh shutout of the season and improved to 14-1-1. He stopped all nine Greensburg Salem shots.

Lorang lowered his goals-against average to 1.46 and boosted his save percentage to .926. On the season, he has made 289 saves on 312 shots, allowing 23 goals.

“Jack Watson, Luke Koehler, Tristan Bemis, Charlie D’Antonio, Charlie Johnson and Ian Lorang held down the fort defensively,” Quinn said.

The Quakers, the No. 2 seed out of the Blue division, were scheduled to meet Chartiers Valley (16-2-3) in the quarterfinals March 5. CV, the third seed out of the Gold division, blanked Hampton (9-10-2) by a 4-0 score in the first round.

Greensburg Salem ended up 8-11-2.

QV wins in semis

Balanced scoring carried the Quaker Valley boys basketball team to a 72-41 win Feb. 18 at home against No. 8 Belle Vernon in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs.

The top-seeded Quakers were paced by a game-high 18 points from senior guard Zach Washington. Sophomore guard Nic Cohen contributed 17, junior guard Sam Chapman scored 14 and junior forward Kolton Johnson added 13 while being a strong force on the glass.

QV sophomore guard Harrison Kerley chipped in with eight points.

Bounce-back win

Sophomore guard Brady Salvia sank five 3-pointers on his way to scoring 23 points Feb. 21, leading Eden Christian Academy past Neshannock, 69-54, in a WPIAL Class 2A consolation game.

Ninth-seeded Eden Christian improved to 12-10 while No. 4 Neshannock dropped to 18-6.

Junior guard Mason Dean contributed 17 points and freshman forward Samuel D’Ippolito added 15 points for Eden Christian, which advanced to play No. 6 Jefferson-Morgan in the fifth-place contest.

David Kwiat hit six 3-pointers and scored 22 points for Neshannock while Luca Pagley totaled 21 points and five 3-pointers.

Hockey for breakfast

The men’s gold medal hockey game between U.S. and Canada at the Winter Olympics was the most-watched sporting event with a pre-9 a.m. ET start time in U.S. history, according to NBC.

An average of 18.6 million viewers tuned in to watch the thrilling contest, which saw a peak viewership of 26 million.

“Yes, I watched,” QV hockey coach Kevin Quinn said. “I would not have missed it. It was quite the game.”

Did you know?

Did you know that the Sewickley Academy boys basketball team won by an average margin of 42 points during the 2025-26 regular season?

Tags: Eden Christian, Quaker Valley, Sewickley Academy