PIHL High School Hockey Notebook – 01/30/2012

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, January 30, 2012 | 1:22 PM

Welcome to another edition of “PIHL Notebook,” your weekly companion to “The PIHL Power Play” on the MSA Sports Network. This week, Bethel Park, West Allegheny, Kittanning and Wheeling Park are among the teams “Melting the Ice” while the “Scoreboard Watch” includes the final perfect record in the league coming to an end, the last winless team in Class AAA finally getting two points and some struggling teams keeping things interesting for playoff favorites. 

 PIHL CLASS AAA:  

MELTING THE ICE

Bethel Park has reached the .500 mark with four wins in a row and points in five straight … Mount Lebanon continues to lead Section 2 thanks to its four-game winning streak, but North Allegheny remains within two points after back-to-back victories … State College is on the right track with three straight wins and points in its last four contests.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

1/23/12 – Section 1: Bethel Park 7, Canon-McMillan 4 … The Big Macs’ 14-game winning streak ends as the Black Hawks reach the .500 mark … Bethel Park took control early with a 3-0 lead after one and a 4-1 advantage at intermission … Austin Jameyson scored the winner on the power play early in the third, and it was 6-1 before Canon-McMillan mounted its comeback attempt … Alex Baskakov scored twice with the man advantage to make it 6-4, but Jacob Brown’s empty-netter sealed the victory … Jameyson also picked up two assists while Derek Lesnak netted the hat trick and added one helper … Zach Davis stopped 28 shots to get credit for the win.

1/23/12 – Section 3: Butler 5, Shaler 4 (OT) … The Golden Tornado finally get their first victory over an up-and-down Titans squad … Butler led 2-0 after one, but it was 3-3 after two … Corey Chuba scored on the power play for a 4-3 Butler lead midway through the third, but Luke Grossman tied it with just 17 seconds remaining in regulation … The Golden Tornado would not be denied, though, and Tanner Gilliland completed the hat trick and got the win at 1:53 of overtime … Gilliland included a power play goal and an assist in his four-point effort … Jacob Hetz scored twice with the man advantage for Shaler … Logan Rothbauer was a busy man, turning aside 34 pieces of vulcanized rubber in the winning effort.

PIHL CLASS AA:

MELTING THE ICE

West Allegheny just keeps on winning, now owning the best string in the PIHL at 12 games … Bishop Canevin is starting to pull away atop Section 2 thanks to eight consecutive victories … Latrobe has managed two points in its last four to claim a seven-point advantage in Section 4 … Pine-Richland is back to .500 after winning its last two games.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

1/23/12 – Non-section: Bishop Canevin 4, Montour 2 … The Crusaders continue to cruise while the Spartans’ skid hits four games despite a solid effort here … After a scoreless first, the two teams traded goals in the second for a 1-1 tie at the break … Bishop Canevin struck just 25 seconds into the third, but Montour tied it back up at the 10:33 mark … This one appeared headed into overtime until Matt Walsh lit the lamp at 14:16, and Pete Karney added some insurance 30 seconds later … Garrett Godlewski and Chad Lounder each contributed one goal and one assist to the win … Brandon Heitzenrater was stout for the Spartans with 34 saves, but the 17 stops for Nikita Meskin proved enough to get the two points.

1/26/12 – Section 1: West Allegheny 2, Moon 1 … The Tigers gave the Indians all they could handle, but Jason Kumpfmiller did what he has done all season and backstopped West Allegheny to the victory … Sam Kelsey got West A on the board at 7:00 of the first, and the lead held until Travor Handlovitch tied it on the power play at 4:07 of the second … We almost needed a fourth period, but Pat Coburn capitalized with the man advantage at 12:59 of the third to end it … It was 28 saves for Kumpfmiller, but don’t discount the 20 stops made by Eric Owen for Moon.

PIHL CLASS A:

MELTING THE ICE

Serra Catholic holds a six-point edge atop Section 1 thanks to a hat trick of victories … Quaker Valley is on an 11-game tear and now leads Section 2 by four points … Freeport will need to extend its three-game winning streak to build a lead bigger than two points in Section 3, especially with Kittanning having won two straight … Hampton has pushed its string of two-point efforts to five games.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

1/24/12 – Non-section: Hampton 3, Westmont Hilltop 2 … The Talbots extend their winning streak while the Hilltoppers’ momentum from defeating Mars is short-lived … It was a special teams bonanza for Hampton with power play goals coming from Ian Wood and Zach Kosick … Wood added a shorthanded marker while Kosick tallied an assist … Westmont Hilltop got two points (1 G, 1 A) from Noah McQuillan while brother Cullen also lit the lamp … Cam Radna continued his best brick wall imitation by stopping 31 shots to pick up the victory.

1/26/12 – Section 3: Freeport 6, Bishop McCort 2 … The Yellowjackets take advantage of the Westmont Hilltop loss to grab first place in the section, at least for now, while the Crimson Crushers continue to struggle … After a scoreless first, it was 1-1 when the Zamboni hit the ice … Bishop McCort would take the lead on a Nathan James power play goal 2:56 into the third, but Freeport exploded with five unanswered from there … Cole Hepler got the winner at 7:56, part of a four-point effort (2 G, 2 A), and Justin Drzemiecki scored twice … Brandon Zack also contributed three assists to the winning effort … Tip your caps to the goaltenders as Cody Lee racked up 30 saves for Freeport and James Stenger turned aside 37 shots despite the loss.

PIHL OPEN CLASS:

MELTING THE ICE

John Marshall continues to lead Section 1 with points in eight straight contests, but it’s a narrow lead with Morgantown enjoying back-to-back victories … Wheeling Park is within three points of the Monarchs and four of the Mohawks after winning three in a row … Wheeling Central Catholic’s five-game winning streak has the Maroon Knights within a game of .500 … Quigley has built a 12-point lead atop Section 2 with a hat trick of victories … Ford City has a five-point cushion in Section 3 by winning its last 10 games … Baldwin could challenge Greensburg Salem for the Section 4 crown if the Highlanders keep that eight-game winning streak alive … Carrick finds itself in the hunt as well after winning four in a row.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

1/23/12 – Section 4: Carrick 3, Keystone Oaks 2 … The Cougars continue to impress in the second half while the Golden Eagles fall just short of ending their current skid … It took a while to start the scoring in this one, but Devyn Reddy finally got Keystone Oaks a 1-0 lead at 11:41 of the second … It would not last long, though, as Carrick tied it less than a minute later and made it 2-1 at 14:40 … Nico Aggazio scored what proved to be the winner at 12:36 of the third … Cody Dulski cut the lead to one goal at 14:39, the Golden Eagles simply ran out of time to get the equalizer … Joe Brinton was the only multi-point performer, contributing one goal and one assist to the victory … Dan Smee of Keystone Oaks and Josh Brown of Carrick each stopped 27 shots.

1/26/12 – Section 1: Wheeling Park 6, Trinity 4 … The Patriots stay on the winning track while the Hillers remain on the losing one, but again, not for lack of trying … Trinity struck first on the power play at 4:26 of the first, trailed 2-1 by the 8:10 mark, but tied it back up at 10:21 … It was then 3-2 Hillers at 1:04 of the second, but Wheeling Park battled to a 4-3 advantage heading to the locker rooms … It stayed that way until Trinity tied it again at 8:54 of the third, but the Patriots got the winner from Michael Grove just 13 seconds later and added some insurance at 11:27 … Dean Hogdon (2 G, 1 PP), Jacob Ferguson (PPG, 1 A) and Camden Allison (2 A) each contributed two points to the losing effort … Grove finished with three points (2 G, 1 A), Ian McArdle with two (PPG, 1 A) and Porter Knollinger set up four goals … It was not a great night for the goaltenders, but Andrew Mack did make 41 saves for Trinity.

THEY SAID IT:

“At the start of the season our coach asked us to write down our goals, and everybody wrote down we wanted a state championship. And to us (as seniors) it’s our last year, and we have worked so hard for it. I don’t think we’ll take anything else.” – West Allegheny goaltender Jason Kumpfmiller on the drive of his senior class to end their final playoff run with gold medals

That wraps up this edition of “PIHL Notebook,” but check back every Monday from now through March for the most current news from around the league. First, though, Adam Hoerner and Josh Rowntree host another episode of “The PIHL Power Play” on Wednesday night at 8:00. Joining us this week will be Westmont Hilltop defender Zak Kindya to talk about defeating Mars and his All-Star experience. Plus, Hampton head coach Dan Serakowski will be along to discuss how the Talbots are running away with a section title. The exclusive home for the 2012 Penguins Cup Playoffs is the MSA Sports Network!

Tags: Baldwin, Bethel Park, Bishop Canevin, Butler, Carrick, Ford City, Freeport, Hampton, John Marshall (WV), Kittanning, Latrobe, West Allegheny, Wheeling Central Catholic (WV), Wheeling Park