Trib HSSN PIHL player of the week: Chartiers Valley goalie Logan Marnik

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, January 20, 2019 | 11:21 PM

It’s not often in hockey that a box score shows a goaltender giving up six goals in a loss and both coaches saying the goalie played a great game.

It happened Monday in the PIHL, in a game won 6-1 by Bishop McCort, this week’s TribLIVE High School Sports Network PIHL Team of the Week.

In the loss, Chartiers Valley sophomore goaltender Logan Marnik gave up six goals, but it could’ve been more.

Marnik turned away 49 shots by the Crimson Crushers.

It was the third time this season Marnik stopped more than 40 shots, with another effort seeing the sophomore stop 39 shots.

“[He] played really well,” said Bishop McCort head coach John Bradley. “He kept the game a lot closer. You may not think that looking at the box score, but he was sensational.”

The third-year head coach of the Colts, Paul Bonetti, echoed Bradley’s sentiment.

“He has been playing really well. That Bishop McCort team is incredible,” said Bonetti. “We probably lose by 10 or 11 if Logan didn’t play as well as he did. He was under extreme duress pretty much the whole game. You don’t usually say a goalie was awesome when he gives up six goals. We didn’t help him at all.”

It wasn’t even Marnik’s best game of the week, a week that saw Chartiers Valley go 1-1, by ending the week with an upset win over first-place South Fayette on Thursday.

In a 3-2 triumph, Marnik stopped 39 of the 41 shots. One of the two Lions’ goals came with 30 seconds left.

“I gave him the nod on Thursday because he was so good on Monday. I played the hot hand,” said Bonetti. “He played an incredible game on Thursday, too.”

Bonetti said he didn’t know much about Marnik coming into the season because he didn’t play for the Colts last year. It’s safe to say Marnik has been a pleasant surprise and a key piece to a season that started slow but has gotten better for the Colts.

“He’s always in position, and he helps us out a ton,” said Bonetti. “There’s a reason why I put him in the games where we might be playing against some better teams. We’re an underdog almost every game, but when you have good goaltending, it keeps you in games.”

Marnik isn’t the only goalie playing well for Chartiers Valley. Sophomore Josh Griffith was the starter coming into the season and has allowed 22 goals on 185 shots faced on his way to a 4-3 record. Bonetti said there is no animosity between the two.

Marnik plays for the U16 AAA Pittsburgh Predators amateur team. Playing amateur hockey and high school hockey can be a challenge, but Marnik is always there.

“He might not be there for the pre-practice run through but he gets there, and if he’s going to be late he always sends a message,” said Bonetti. “I think the other guys on the team notice that.”

Playing on the Predators also gives Marnik an advantage of knowing some tendencies of certain players Chartiers Valley plays against. It has also made Logan a better goalie, Bonetti added.

“He understands the process and he can take a lot in,” said Bonetti. “He understands where he’s supposed to be positionally, and he’s had multiple goaltending instructors. He tells me the things he takes from those guys and he’s always applying knowledge to what he does.”

According to Bonetti, former Penguins’ goalie Brent Johnson was one of Marnik’s instructors.

Marnik might get the nod between the pipes for tomorrow’s rematch with South Fayette, which will get underway just past 7 p.m. at the Mt. Lebanon Ice Arena. He’ll be looking to improve upon his .921 save percentage and 2-4 record so far this season.

PIHL Honorable Mentions

Canon-Mac got a 35–save effort from Mario Eafrati in a 4-2 win over Pittsburgh Central Catholic in Class AAA action Tuesday, while Alex Willbert, the goalie at Peters Township, turned in a 34-save performance in the Indians’ 5-2 win over Seneca Valley the same night. The night prior, Butler’s Matt Beemsterboer made 33 saves in a shootout win over Mt. Lebanon.

In Class AA, Ben Leslie scored four goals in two games for Penn Trafford, including a hat trick in the Warriors’ 6-4 loss to Moon Thursday. Hampton’s Michael Orban scored a goal and had three helpers in the Talbots’ 7-4 win over Mars on Monday. In Upper St. Clair’s 8-4 win over Plum, Devin Rohrich scored four goals, and Anthony Carone had a goal and four assists.

Bishop McCort’s two-win week was highlighted by six goals from Raman Yerameichyk, as well as a pair of two-goal, one-helper performances from Jackson Dobbs. Elsewhere in Class A, Montour’s Ethan Diffendal, a defenseman, scored four goals and assisted on two others in the Spartans’ 17-1 win over Beaver. Ritchy Froehlich Jr. added six assists and a goal in that same game. Also, Wheeling Catholic’s Chase Edgerton scored four goals and three assists, factoring in on every WCC goal in an 8-7 overtime loss Monday to Norwin in overtime.

Iin Division 2, Burrell’s Giovanni Palombo scored five goals and had an assist in the Bucs’ 9-1 win against Trinity on Monday, and Montour’s Carter Kline tallied five assists and a goal in a 7-3 win over Knoch. Ringgold’s Evan Cook had a 16-save shutout of Central Valley on Thursday.

Kyle Dawson is a freelance writer.

Tags: Burrell, Canon-McMillan, Chartiers Valley, Penn-Trafford