Westmoreland PIHL playoff capsule: Penguins Cup championship, March 22, 2022

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Monday, March 21, 2022 | 4:30 PM

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Today’s game

Class 2A

Penguins Cup championship

2-Franklin Regional (18-2) vs. 1-Thomas Jefferson (19-1)

6:30 p.m. at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, Cranberry

Coaches: John Winebrenner, Franklin Regional; John Zeiler, Thomas Jefferson

How they got here: Franklin Regional — beat Butler in quarterfinals (10-2), and South Fayette in semifinals (3-2, OT); Thomas Jefferson — beat Hempfield in quarterfinals (7-6) and Penn-Trafford in semifinals (6-2)

Ice chips: Franklin Regional returned to the PIHL finals for the second year in a row with a 3-2 win overtime against South Fayette in the semifinals. Junior Matty Knizner scored the winning goal at 7:08 of overtime after senior Chase Williams converted a rare penalty shot with 13:15 left in the third period. Williams, who has come on as one of the most exciting players in 2A, had two goals in the win. Knizner and Luke Lavrich each scored twice in a 10-2 win over Butler in the quarterfinals. The Panthers won PIHL titles in 2016 and ’17. … Thomas Jefferson advanced with a 6-2 semifinal win over Penn-Trafford. Senior forward Colby Bilski had a hat trick, and the Jaguars held Penn-Trafford to 12 shots on goal. Senior forward Nick Stock had a hat trick of his own in a 7-6 win over Hempfield in the quarterfinals. Thomas Jefferson has 137 goals, one behind Franklin Regional’s 138 for the class lead. The Jaguars won three straight titles from 1998-2000. The winner moves on to play for the state championship.

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Thomas Jefferson