Baldwin hockey misses playoffs by point

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, March 10, 2018 | 12:12 AM

Baldwin's hockey team missed qualifying for the PIHL playoffs by the slimmest of margins.

A single point.

The Highlanders lost their final game of the season to Hempfield, 6-5, to finish 9-9-1 and with 19 points in the PIHL Class AA division.

Baldwin moved from Class A in 2016-17 to Class AA in 2017-18.

“The players gave a great effort against Hempfield,” coach Justin Glock said. “We had some unlucky bounces, and it just wasn't meant to be.

“Our forward line of Ross Zofcin, Andrew Golvash and Keith Reed were great in that game. Dan Figura and Nick Antonio were as well on defense. They left it all on the line in their last games in a Baldwin uniform.”

Zofcin and Golvash, both juniors, plus Reed, a freshman, made up the Highlanders' top offensive line this season, leading the way for the team's other forwards — Vinnie Episcopo, Jason Kavulic, Cameron Greenaway, Justin Pollard, Zack Pender, Nathan Hobson, Luke Mackowiak and James Duyla.

Baldwin typically rotated five players on defense. In the mix were seniors Easton Tamburri, Figura and Antonio, sophomore Paul Zmuda and junior Nathan Breisinger.

“Even though we didn't make the playoffs,” Antonio said, “I was still very pleased and happy with what we accomplished considering we moved up a division. I thought losing two of our best players from last year, Paul Knerr and Dom Carlino, would really hurt us this year, but my team proved me wrong. Everyone stepped up their game to fill the void and did a very good job at doing so.”

Zofcin led the team with nine goals, 17 assists and 26 points. Reed ended up with nine goals and five assists, and Golvash had eight goals and six assists.

Golvash scored two goals in the season finale against Hempfield. Zofcin, Figura and Kavulic all scored once.

Penn-Trafford and Shaler tied for the final playoff spot in the division, both with 20-point totals.

“I hope the kids learned that every single game throughout the season is important, no matter if it's the third or last game,” Glock said. “But they gave it everything they had this season. We had some players injured and miss some games that made it tough, but our expectations never changed.”

Figura and Antonio proved to be offensive-minded defensemen for the Highlanders. Figura registered seven goals and 12 assists; Antonio accounted for seven goals and 10 assists.

Figura, Zofcin and Shannon were all-star selections this season.

“We'll really miss Nick and Dan, who were our anchors on defense,” Glock said. “I believe they were two of the best defensemen in the PIHL. They both have the ability to influence games and did so throughout the season.

“We have some great players coming back next year, two of our top four scorers.”

Two players who displayed noticeable improvement this season were Hobson and Zmuda.

“Both were asked to switch positions,” Glock said.

Hobson moved from defense to offense; Zmuda went from offense to defense.

“(Hobson) got better and better as a right wing. He gave us a physical presence on offense and was a great forechecker,” Glock said. “(Zmuda) solidified our defensive core and helped our team have some of the best defensive numbers in Class AA. He was very difficult for opponents to play against.”

The Highlanders' goaltenders were junior Cole Shannon and senior Dylan Desimone.

Shannon was in net for eight wins, including two shutouts, compiling a 2.89 goals-against average and .903 save percentage this season.

Desimone posted one victory, had a 3.94 goals-against average and a .871 save percentage.

Figura, Antonio, Tamburri and Desimone were the only seniors on the Baldwin squad in 2017-18.

“I would have loved to make the playoffs and continue my hockey career a little further,” Antonio said. “I have had a great experience playing Baldwin hockey and will always look back at the memories I have made.”

Ray Fisher is a freelance writer.

Tags: Baldwin