Thomas Jefferson hockey riding high

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, February 4, 2018 | 5:39 PM

Thomas Jefferson opened this week riding a five-game winning streak in the PIHL Class A division.

The Jaguars skated past Sewickley Academy, 3-2, Indiana, 7-4, Beaver, 12-2, and Greensburg Salem, 10-2. They also picked up a forfeit victory against Deer Lakes.

Johnny Rimsky and John Piscitelli had hat tricks against Greensburg Salem, and Brendan Crousey notched a hat trick against Beaver.

Other TJ goal-scorers in the streak were Matt Krieger, Kevin Koett, Hunter Fairman, Joey Oliver, Hayden Hintemeyer, Jared Rossi, William O'Brien, Eddie Pazo, Riley Holzer and Casey Bilski.

“Everyone has contributed,” veteran TJ coach Bill Crousey said. “Our core of seniors and juniors have played well, which is what every team needs to win games.

“What has been nice to see is that our younger players are starting to become comfortable and are contributing — Riley Holzer, Eddie Pazo, Will O'Brien, Nick Ripepi, Hunter Fairman, Luke Rayman and Brady Rotollo. With the help of our senior leaders, those kids are starting to understand what needs to be done to be successful as a team and an individual.”

The Jaguars boosted their record to 14-3. Rimsky led the squad in goals with 14, and Crousey had a team-high 20 assists.

Goaltender Luke Ripepi owned a 13-3 record with a 2.75 goals-against average and one shutout.

TJ ends the regular season with games Feb. 15 against Blackhawk (at Beaver Ice) and Feb. 19 against West Allegheny (at Baierl Complex).

Ray Fisher is a freelance writer.

Tags: Thomas Jefferson