Trib HSSN’s PIHL Team of the Week: Bishop McCort

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, January 20, 2019 | 9:48 PM

Last year, the Bishop McCort Crimson Crushers won their first Penguins Cup championship since 2005.

It was the seventh championship for a program that has one of the toughest travel schedules in the PIHL.

Coach John Bradley doesn’t allow the travel distance to be an excuse but said it can be a challenge.

The Crimson Crushers have found success through that.

Last week, Bishop McCort, which is first in Single-A’s East Division, had to play two games: one with a travel time estimated around 90 minutes, and another 45 minutes.

It was the first time this season the Crimson Crushers were presented with the challenge of playing two games in four days, as well.

“We get home late, and the kids have to be at school on time the next day to be eligible to play in the next game so it’s definitely a challenge,” Bradley said.

Despite the challenges, Bishop McCort found a way to win both games, defeating Chartiers Valley, 6-1, on Monday and Indiana, 7-5, on Thursday.

For that, the Crimson Crushers are this week’s TribLIVE High School Sports Network PIHL Team of the Week.

Bishop McCort jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 12 minutes against Chartiers Valley and never looked back.

The Crimson Crushers did not take a penalty, which Bradley said was key, and out-shot the Colts, 55-18, including 19-3 in the second period.

“I think there was a lot of things that were working,” Bradley said. “We did a nice job of filling the gaps well making good passes. We also changed the lines around a bit, and those changes are really paying off.”

Seven minutes in, defenseman Will Miller put the first puck in the back of the net to give the Crimson Crushers a 1-0 lead. Forward Raman Yerameichyk scored the next tally at 12:13 in the first period.

Forward Jackson Dobbs scored twice and assisted on the final goal to total three points on the night. Yerameichyk scored again before forward Colby France scored the final goal.

Cole Bradley stopped 17 of the 18 shots he faced for the victors.

“I think that’s probably one of the best games we’ve played in a long time,” John Bradley said. “We had a ton of shots, but their goalie played well. We were strong in the defensive zone and played a clean game.”

Thursday, Bishop McCort traveled to Indiana, the second-place team behind the Crimson Crushers in the East Division.

Indiana led 2-1 after two goals in the final five minutes of the first period. Dobbs then scored twice in the first seven minutes of the second period to take a 3-2 lead before Indiana tallied two goals in three minutes. Indiana took a 4-3 lead to the intermission.

“I thought there were some penalties that we took early that weren’t great penalties, and we can’t get ourselves in those situations,” John Bradley said. “We are at our best when we can play five on five. We didn’t win many draws either during the game Thursday for whatever reason. It was a long week.”

Bradley said he was confident entering the third period down one goal. If the Crimson Crushers continued to do what they were doing, they would have a good chance to win.

Bishop McCort tied the score 1:51 into the third period and took the lead about 11 minutes later before Indiana tied it again. Yerameichyk scored the winner at 14:58 before Cameron Bunn added one near the end.

Yerameichyk scored four goals in the win over Indiana, capping off his impressive week, and Bunn had a goal and two helpers. Dobbs added another two goals and an assist after doing the same in the game against Chartiers Valley.

Bishop McCort now turns its attention to a game Tuesday against Norwin. Puck drop is 8:30 p.m.

“We just have to keep working hard. I think the change in the lines has helped,” John Bradley said. “We have to work on our penalty kill a little bit and win more faceoffs, but we’re in a good position.”

PIHL Honorable Mentions

Elsewhere in Single A, Chartiers Valley rebounded from its Monday loss to Bishop McCort by defeating South Fayette, 3-2. The teams will play again Monday at Mt. Lebanon Ice Center.

North Hills defeated Sewickley Academy to move ahead of the Panthers in the A North standings by two points. Liam Oneill tallied two goals in the win. The Indians outshot Sewickley Academy on goal 39-18.

In D2, Morgantown won its third in a row by defeating Knoch, 7-3, with a lot of help from Carter Kline, who had one goal and five assists. Connellsville moved ahead of Neshannock in the standings with a 5-3 win over the Lancers.

Butler knocked off Mt.Lebanon in a shootout 3-2 in Triple A.

A few teams had big wins in Double A, as well, perhaps none bigger than Hampton’s win over Mars, which allowed the Talbots to get some separation in third place in the Northwest standings.

Kyle Dawson is a freelance writer.

Tags: Butler, Chartiers Valley, Hampton, North Hills