PIHL Notebook – 2014-2015 Class A Preview

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, October 20, 2014 | 12:39 PM

Welcome to another edition of “PIHL Notebook” as we continue our comprehensive preview of the 2014-15 high school hockey season. Today we take a look at the teams vying for the Class A championship.

Class A has the most complex breakdown of the new alignment, split into two tiers with two conferences in each. Tier 1 is, fittingly, the more stacked of the two. Three of last year’s final four will compete in the Western Conference, including defending champion Quaker Valley, while McDowell and Montour join from the Open Division and Class AA respectively. The Eastern Conference includes Chiefs Cup finalist Hempfield, the “other” member of last year’s Class A final four in Freeport, and another Open transplant in Gateway.

In Tier 2, the West is headlined by two more Open move-ups in Wheeling Park and Keystone Oaks while South Fayette and South Park look to rebuild. Meanwhile, the East features one more Open migrator in Greensburg Salem, rebuilding Class A stalwarts Serra Catholic and Bishop McCort, and a Franklin Regiona program hoping the move down from Class AA will finally get them out of the doldrums.

What does all this mean for the playoffs when March rolls around? We will find out in the months ahead.

(Teams listed in order of 2013-14 winning percentage)

TIER 1, WESTERN CONFERENCE

Quaker Valley Quakers
2013-14 Record: 21-1-0, 42 PTS
2013-14 Team Stats: 149 GF, 41 GA, 322 PIM
2013-14 Playoffs: Won Penguins Cup; Lost Pennsylvania Cup
2013-14 Three Stars: James Perkins (43 G, 29 A); Connor Quinn (33 G, 37 A); Parker Sherry (17-1-0, 1.88 GAA, 0.918 SV%, 2 SO)

Mars Fighting Planets
2013-14 Record: 17-5-0, 34 PTS
2013-14 Team Stats: 141 GF, 63 GA, 373 PIM
2013-14 Playoffs: Lost in Semifinals
2013-14 Three Stars: Nicholas Makozy (24 G, 17 A); Craig Mazzotta (15 G, 24 A); Tyler Spreng (13-4-0, 2.97 GAA, 0.868 SV%, 3 SO)

Thomas Jefferson Jaguars
2013-14 Record: 15-5-2, 32 PTS
2013-14 Team Stats: 124 GF, 63 GA, 335 PIM
2013-14 Playoffs: Lost in Final
2013-14 Three Stars: Zach Uhlyar (27 G, 24 A); Nicholas Tamburi (23 G, 21 A); Nick Ripepi (12-5-2, 2.84 GAA, 0.904 SV%, 1 SO)

Erie McDowell Trojans
2013-14 Record: 14-6-0, 28 PTS (Open Class)
2013-14 Team Stats: 123 GF, 56 GA, 363 PIM
2013-14 Playoffs: Lost in Quarterfinals
2013-14 Three Stars: Mitch Reichert (23 G, 23 A); Matt Lorei (17 G, 21 A); Evan Szablewski (14-6-0, 2.80 GAA, 0.897 SV%, 1 SO)

Montour Spartans
2013-14 Record: 4-16-2, 10 PTS (Class AA)
2013-14 Team Stats: 53 GF, 135 GA, 419 PIM
2013-14 Playoffs: Did not qualify
2013-14 Three Stars: Michael Skoff (15 G, 9 A); Aiden Beck (8 G, 15 A); Brandon Eisel (7 G, 13 A)

TIER 1, EASTERN CONFERENCE

Hempfield Spartans
2013-14 Record: 17-3-0, 34 PTS (Open Class)
2013-14 Team Stats: 141 GF, 31 GA, 238 PIM
2013-14 Playoffs: Lost in Final
2013-14 Three Stars: Anthony Ciocca (35 G, 21 A); Conor Cortazzo (19 G, 27 A); Garrett Ciaramella (15-3-0, 1.75 GAA, 0.919 SV%, 4 SO)

Freeport Yellowjackets
2013-14 Record: 14-5-2, 30 PTS
2013-14 Team Stats: 122 GF, 54 GA, 357 PIM
2013-14 Playoffs: Lost in Semifinals
2013-14 Three Stars: Cole Hepler (32 G, 22 A); Michael Frazetta (9 G, 25 A); Brendon Zack (8 G, 17 A)

Westmont Hilltop Hilltoppers
2013-14 Record: 13-6-3, 29 PTS
2013-14 Team Stats: 91 GF, 47 GA, 280 PIM
2013-14 Playoffs: Lost in Quarterfinals
2013-14 Three Stars: Brandon Leech (10 G, 21 A); Stephen DeMarco (13 G, 12 A); Sebastian Ragno (13-6-3, 2.06 GAA, 0.903 SV%, 4 SO)

Deer Lakes Lancers
2013-14 Record: 10-12-0, 20 PTS
2013-14 Team Stats: 115 GF, 99 GA, 142 PIM
2013-14 Playoffs: Lost in Quarterfinals
2013-14 Three Stars: Zach Luniewski (25 G, 27 A); Vince Casale (17 G, 31 A); Mitch Rupprecht (29 G, 17 A)

Gateway Gators
2013-14 Record: 5-15-0, 10 PTS (Open Class)
2013-14 Team Stats: 70 GF, 135 GA, 230 PIM
2013-14 Playoffs: Did not qualify
2013-14 Three Stars: Luke Fossati (12 G, 11 A); Zach Dusch (6 G, 15 A); Tanner Davis (14 G, 6 A)

TIER 2, WESTERN CONFERENCE

Wheeling Park Patriots
2013-14 Record: 10-10-0, 20 PTS (Open Class)
2013-14 Team Stats: 114 GF, 93 GA, 505 PIM
2013-14 Playoffs: Lost in Quarterfinals
2013-14 Three Stars: Kyle Wensel (17 G, 17 A); Michael Grove (15 G, 19 A); Austin Curnes (18 G, 15 A)

Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles
2013-14 Record: 5-14-0, 10 PTS (Open Class)
2013-14 Team Stats: 44 GF, 107 GA, 237 PIM
2013-14 Playoffs: Lost in Quarterfinals
2013-14 Three Stars: Matt Brestensky (10 G, 5 A); Jack Malka (7 G, 7 A); Devin Rosato (4 G, 6 A)

South Fayette Lions
2013-14 Record: 4-17-0, 8 PTS
2013-14 Team Stats: 57 GF, 175 GA, 262 PIM
2013-14 Playoffs: Lost in Quarterfinals
2013-14 Three Stars: Jordan Timmons (26 G, 11 A); Anthony Vallelunga (9 G, 11 A); John Lipovich (6 G, 10 A)

South Park Eagles
2013-14 Record: 2-19-0, 4 PTS
2013-14 Team Stats: 54 GF, 163 GA, 304 PIM
2013-14 Playoffs: Did not qualify
2013-14 Three Stars: Tanner Orr (13 G, 8 A); Tyler Gerhold (9 G, 10 A); Travis Campolong (9 G, 8 A)

TIER 2, EASTERN CONFERENCE

Greensburg-Salem Golden Lions
2013-14 Record: 11-9-0, 22 PTS (Open Class)
2013-14 Team Stats: 115 GF, 76 GA, 208 PIM
2013-14 Playoffs: Lost in Quarterfinals
2013-14 Three Stars: Vince Defazio (24 G, 33 A); Logan Davis (31 G, 25 A); Garrett King (11 G, 21 A)

Serra Catholic Eagles
2013-14 Record: 5-16-1, 11 PTS
2013-14 Team Stats: 52 GF, 117 GA, 456 PIM
2013-14 Playoffs: Lost in Quarterfinals
2013-14 Three Stars: Roman Kraemer (19 G, 13 A); William Purdue (0 G, 15 A); Jonathan Henschel (6 G, 8 A)

Bishop McCort Crimson Crushers
2013-14 Record: 2-17-0, 4 PTS
2013-14 Team Stats: 35 GF, 118 GA, 234 PIM
2013-14 Playoffs: Did not qualify
2013-14 Three Stars: Connor Bunn (12 G, 8 A); Christopher Miller (6 G, 8 A); Anthony Formica (4 G, 9 A)

Franklin Regional Panthers
2013-14 Record: 0-21-1, 1 PT (Class AA)
2013-14 Team Stats: 21 GF, 182 GA, 510 PIM
2013-14 Playoffs: Did not qualify
2013-14 Three Stars: Austin Avampato (5 G, 7 A); Zach Bearley (4 G, 2 A); Gavin Fustng (3 G, 1 A)

This completes the hat trick on our PIHL season preview, but we have one more left in us. So, check back next week for a look inside the Open…oh, wait a minute, that’s not quite right any longer. Guess you just have to check back to find out what exactly that means, now don’t you? Your home for the 2015 Penguins Cup Playoffs is the MSA Sports Network!

Tags: Bishop McCort, Deer Lakes, Erie McDowell, Franklin Regional, Freeport, Gateway, Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Keystone Oaks, Westmont Hilltop, Wheeling Park