New faces take center ice for perennially powerful North Allegheny hockey program

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, October 8, 2022 | 11:01 AM

Purchase Photo Options

North Allegheny always had a few familiar names among its top six forwards in recent years, experienced scorers who were there for multiple seasons. Yet, the Tigers are entering a winter of change.

“People are used to seeing Connor Chi’s name. Washabaugh. Collinear. Those guys have all moved on,” said North Allegheny coach Andrew Siess, “but that just means we have new kids who are hungry for an opportunity to make their contribution.”

Add Siess’ name to that list, too.

A 2010 North Allegheny graduate, Siess was promoted to head coach this summer, replacing Mike Bagnato, who quietly retired in the spring after eight seasons. Siess was Bagnato’s top assistant. He takes over a program that has won 73% of its games since 2014-15 and celebrated two PIHL titles under Bagnato.

Siess said some returning players were probably a little surprised in May when Bagnato wasn’t there for tryouts, but their new coach, a 30-year-old who played college hockey at Slippery Rock, is a familiar face around the NA program.

“It might have come out of left field for a lot of people, seeing Andrew Siess get named varsity head coach at North Allegheny,” Siess said. “But for the families and people around the program, I’ve been here for a long time.”

North Allegheny went 17-2 last regular season and reached the PIHL Class 3A semifinals. The Tigers have reached at least the semifinals eight years in a row.

Gone is Chi, who led all Class 3A scorers with 38 points as a senior a year ago. However, NA does return senior forward Matt Irvin, who was the second-leading scorer in 3A with 33 points.

The Tigers also bring back their top four defensemen and senior goalie Rylan Murphy, who ranked statistically among the league’s best last winter.

Murphy went 12-1 with a 1.42 goals against average and a .936 save percentage.

“Rylan is a rock for us,” Siess said. “I’m excited for his senior year.”

The blue line is anchored by senior defenseman Trey Gallo, the team captain and a fourth-year varsity starter. He was third on the team with 24 points last year, scored 13 goals and tied for ninth among all Class 3A scorers.

“It’s not every year you see a defense­man leading the league in points, and Trey Gallo has been in the conversation really since his freshman year here,” Siess said. “He’s a dynamic player. Great leadership qualities. Great vision on the ice. His endurance is second to none.”

Senior forward Lorenzo Colaizzi joins Irvin as an alternate captain. Colaizzi, coming off a six-goal season, will shoulder top six minutes this season. The team also brings back senior forward Nate Spak, a 16-point scorer who doubles as a linebacker on the football team. He’ll join the hockey team later in the season.

Among the newcomers at forward are juniors Evan Perrotte and A.J. Herron and freshman Luke Walkauskas.

“We had 10 seniors that graduated,” Siess said, “but we do have a lot of talent back.”

North Allegheny won PIHL titles in 2019 and 2021 — and might have won three consecutive if the 2020 playoffs hadn’t been cancelled in the early days of the pandemic. By promoting Siess to head coach, the team hopes to continue that success with a seamless transition.

NA’s schedule includes familiar trips to South Bend, Ind., and Jamestown, N.Y., for tournaments.

“I’ll keep the status quo in a lot of areas,” Siess said. “I think it would be hard to find another varsity program that does as much as North Allegheny does from a tournament perspective, from a team-building perspective and an off-the-rink perspective.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: North Allegheny