PIHL High School Hockey Notebook – 02/27/2012

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, February 27, 2012 | 5:44 PM

Welcome to another edition of “PIHL Notebook,” your weekly companion to “The PIHL Power Play” on the MSA Sports Network. Check out which teams are hot right now in “Melting the Ice” and track recent game action in “Scoreboard Watch.” Plus, we preview upcoming MSA broadcasts and quote guests from the show in “They Said It.”

PIHL CLASS AAA:

MELTING THE ICE

Bethel Park has not failed to earn a point since the calendar flipped to 2012, and the winning streak now stands at nine games … North Allegheny can clinch Section 2 with a point in the regular season finale thanks to ripping off seven victories in a row … Pittsburgh Central Catholic has Section 3 well in hand with three straight decisions in its favor … Penn-Trafford has locked up the Section 4 crown with points in its last four outings.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

2/2412 – Non-section: Pittsburgh Central Catholic 4, Norwin 3 (OT) … The Vikings have tied the Knights for the eighth seed in the playoff bracket with this thrilling victory … Norwin controlled the first two periods, scoring first and leading 2-1 through 15 minutes of action, a lead extended to 3-1 at the break … Pittsburgh Central then got two goals from Eric Smith 4:47 apart in the third to force overtime, setting the stage for James Pozycki’s winner just 25 seconds into the extra frame … Pozycki also picked up one assist while Connor Dunning and Robert Mazeski each set up two goals … Alex Moxie and Kevin Saska also registered a pair of helpers for the Knights … Ryan Boccabella managed 22 saves despite suffering the loss while Kevin Dziubek stopped 21 shots.

2/24/12 – Non-section: State College 5, Shaler 4 … In a battle between two teams bound for the postseason, this one sure felt like an early March contest … The Titans controlled the first period and stormed out to a 3-0 lead, but the Little Lions cut it to 3-2 before the Zamboni hit the ice … State College continued to roll and led 4-3 at 7:49 of the third, but Shaler tied it back up at 10:43 … Lucas Michael was in no mood for extra time, though, netting the winner at 14:35 … Michael also contributed an assist, but Stefan Horgas took center stage with five points (2 G, 3 A) … Dalton Brown scored twice while Dan Moscone set up two in the winning effort … Jacob Hetz paced Shaler with three points (2 G, 1 PP, 1 A) while Taylor Colamarino picked up two helpers.

PIHL CLASS AA:

MELTING THE ICE

This may be getting a bit monotonous unless you are from West Allegheny, but the Indians have now won 15 in a row … Moon is getting hot at the right time with two consecutive victories … Chartiers Valley has won seven straight for a one-point edge over Bishop Canevin, but Erie Cathedral Prep remains in the Section 2 hunt as well thanks to a four-game unbeaten streak … Gateway is also looking sharp after a pair of two-point efforts.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

2/23/12 – Section 1: West Allegheny 6, Montour 0 … This one was over early with multiple standout efforts for the Indians … It was 5-0 after one with Patrick Coburn’s hat trick including the winner and one power play goal … Coburn also set up two goals, but that was nothing compared to Christopher Allison’s four assists … Jacob Druga notched three points (1 G, 2 A) while Jonathan Levitt (2 A) and Mason Ervin (1 G, 1 A) each had two … Jason Kumpfmiller earned the shutout with 20 saves.

2/23/12 – Non-section: Gateway 6, Latrobe 4 … The Gators snap a seven-game unbeaten streak for the Wildcats in fairly dramatic fashion … Gateway scored the only goal of the first period, but it was 3-2 Latrobe by intermission … The two squads traded early third period blows, but the Gators turned it on from there with three unanswered to ice the victory by the 8:32 mark … Camden Cacolice and John Kasper each tallied two goals and one assist with the former netting the winner … Troy McAteer set up three goals while Jake DeHass picked up two assists for Gateway … Latrobe got three-point efforts from Josh Singley (2 G, 1 A), Adam Ferguson (1 G, 2 A) and Christopher Johnson (3 A) … Despite all the impressive offensive numbers, it was Tyler Perhac who stole the spotlight by making 49 saves to earn the victory.

PIHL CLASS A:

MELTING THE ICE

Serra Catholic has Section 1 cinched up after earning points in its last two contests … Quaker Valley’s unbeaten streak now stands at 16 games, and the Quakers may have to keep it going in order to steal the Section 2 title from Mars … Kittanning now leads Freeport by one point in Section 3 thanks to its six-game winning streak.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

2/21/12 – Non-section: Serra Catholic 1, Westmont Hilltop 1 (OT) … The Eagles now find themselves tied with Freeport for the number five seed in the playoff bracket after this one … Robert Kendi struck on the power play at 6:54 of the first period for a 1-0 Serra Catholic lead … The Hilltoppers would tie it on the man advantage courtesy of Brian Yost at 12:23 of the second … Adam Ayre made 27 saves for Westmont Hilltop, but Travis Marzina was better with 31 stops.

2/22/12 – Non-section: Greensburg Central Catholic 6, Bishop McCort 3 … There will be no winless teams in the league this season as the Centurions finally get rid of the goose egg … Greensburg Central struck first with an early power play goal … The Crimson Crushers tied it minutes later, but it was 3-1 Centurions after one and then 4-1 at intermission … Bishop McCort cut the lead to 4-3 midway through the third, but GCC tacked on two late insurance markers … Domenic Antonucci starred with two goals, including the winner, and three assists … Ryan McHugh contributed a hat trick, including a power play tally, and one assist to the winning effort … Zaine Tomkowski paced McCort with two goals, one of them with the man advantage, and one helper … William Potter was brilliant with 44 saves to earn the victory.

PIHL OPEN CLASS:

The 2012 Nailers and Chiefs Cup Playoffs are now under way! Final results from Sunday’s quarterfinal round were not available at press time, but we will have more coverage on our website throughout the week!

UPCOMING MSA BROADCASTS

2/27/12 – Class AAA – Non-section: Mount Lebanon @ Peters Township … The puck drops at 6:30 PM with Mike Azadian and Brandon Rebel on the call.

2/27/12 – Class AAA – Non-section: Penn-Trafford @ Canon-McMillan … The puck drops at 8:30 PM with Bob Orkwis and Brandon Rebel on the call.

THEY SAID IT:

“I made the team my sophomore year, and that was our first losing season in I don’t know how many years. And last year was also a losing season, so this year it’s been great to get back to being that perennial powerhouse that we’ve always been. My first year in the organization as a seventh grader was the year when Matt Bartkowski was captain of the team, and they took states and didn’t lose a game all season. I grew up watching guys like him, Tyler Murovich and Rick Beuke. And now we have a brother of Rick Beuke on the team, so when we go over to his house for a team dinner we can see the posters hanging up there. I think the main goal is to get one of those posters hanging up of our team this year. – Mount Lebanon captain Jason Hartman on the pressures and tradition that come with being part of Blue Devils hockey

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. This week we focus on the Open Class playoffs with guests representing the Nailers and Chiefs Cup finalists. The exclusive home for the 2012 Penguins Cup Playoffs is the MSA Sports Network!

Tags: Bethel Park, Bishop McCort, Canon-McMillan, Chartiers Valley, Erie Cathedral Prep, Gateway, Greensburg C.C., Kittanning, Latrobe, West Allegheny, Westmont Hilltop