Young, quick Franklin Regional hockey roster has high hopes for season

By: Paul Schofield
Saturday, October 7, 2023 | 11:01 AM

Despite dropping the opener to Latrobe, Franklin Regional hockey coach John Winebrenner is excited about the upcoming season.

The Panthers (0-1) ran into an outstanding goalie in a 4-3 overtime setback Oct. 2.

“We pretty much dominated the play,” Winebrenner said, “but the goalie was tough to beat.”

Latrobe sophomore Brock Pflugh stopped 28 of 31 shots.

“I feel we’re pretty good,” said Winebrenner, who is beginning his fifth season as coach. “We’re young and we have some speed. We’re pretty solid.”

Despite losing its top two scorers from the 2022-23 season — Matthew Knizner and Luke Lavrish — Winebrenner said they’ve backfilled with younger players.

Nick Matus is the top scorer returning. He had 13 goals and had 15 assists. Also back are defensemen Max Rutkowski and Jack Falkner and forwards Max Williams, Nolan Savinda, Luke Anderchak and Derek German.

Williams scored two goals against Latrobe and Rutkowski had one.

Some new faces include sophomore forward Brendan Yohe and freshman defenseman Carter Yohe.

The top goalies are senior David Valentino and sophomore Grant Novotny.

Winebrenner said he was pleased how well the team played in the St. Margaret Preseason Tournament. They finished second to Pine-Richland but had wins against North Allegheny and Armstrong. They also tied Peters Township.

“I feel our quickness and experience is our strength,” Winebrenner said. “We’re always working on the mistakes we make during a game. We do that at practice.

“When we’re consistent, we can play with anyone. When we’re inconsistent, we’ll struggle. We need to focus on being more consistent.”

Winebrenner expects Thomas Jefferson, Bishop McCort and South Fayette will be the favorites in Class 2A.

“The coaches we played against at the St. Margaret tournament liked how we played,” Winebrenner said. “Our game against North Allegheny was a fun game to coach and watch.”

The Panthers were scheduled to play host to Thomas Jefferson on Oct. 9 before getting a week off and returning to action Oct. 23 at North Hills.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional