Franklin Regional Repeats as PIHL Pens Cup 1-A Champs

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, March 21, 2017 | 9:52 PM

For nearly the first 14 minutes of the PIHL Class A title game between Franklin Regional and Indiana, it seemed as if the goaltenders on each respective side would be perfect, seemingly feeding off the raucous atmosphere inside the UPMC Sports Lemieux Sports Complex. However, that changed 13:50 into the first period, when Oldrich Virag netted his first of two goals as the Panthers beat the Little Indians 6-1 for their second straight PIHL Penguins Cup Class 1-A championship.

The Virag opening tally came off a feed from Justin Gismondi and Nick Carretta, all three of which had multiple point games.

From there, it was all Franklin Regional, taking a 2-0 lead into the second period. But 90 seconds into the second period, it seemed as if Indiana had cut the deficit in half, but the goal was disallowed due when the official behind the net called the play dead, and the Panthers countered with a third-consecutive goal a minute-and-a-half later, giving them an extra tally for additional breathing room.

“The goalie got in front of the buck, bounced over his shoulder and the ref blew the whistle for some reason,” said Indiana head coach Jordan Haines. “(The ref) said he had it covered, but I could see (the puck) rolling into the back of the net from the bench. He said he blew the whistle before it crossed the goal line. And that crushed our momentum. But he’s human, he made a mistake, and that’s how it is.”

Indiana fought back however, thanks to Aaron Burkhart’s one-timer from a behind-the-net setup by Brandon Boyer midway through the stanza, to create the always nerve-racking 3-1 lead for Franklin Regional. But the Panthers weren’t fazed, scoring 12 seconds later, and adding two more goals for good measure to make it a 6-1 final, handing Franklin Regional its second-straight Penguins Cup crown in Class A.

“We’re not done,” said Franklin Regional head coach Brian Kurtz. “The theme of this season was ‘unfinished business.’ We’re enjoying this but we have a greater goal in mind.”

During the regular season, Franklin Regional downed Indiana by scores of 7-2 and 4-2, respectfully. Kurtz said he didn’t tinker anything, while Haines changed nearly his entire system.

“We worked all week on running a different forecheck and working on our backchecks,” said Haines. “(Franklin Regional) does the same thing every time, and we didn’t execute. We ran it in practice and it was great. I think the emotions of the Penguins Cup hype took it away from us.”

It’s not all doom and gloom for Indiana, which brings back sophomore goaltender Madison Barker, who faced an overwhelming 43 shots on Tuesday. Additionally, Barker made history as the first female to start in next in a Penguins Cup final.

“It’s pretty cool, but we made it here as a team,” said Barker, who made 37 saves. “We’re going to continue to be a team, so it’s really not that big of a deal. Every time you lose a championship game you remember it forever.”

On the other side for Franklin Regional, Virag may have scored twice, but Jamie Mauro was the facilitator of one of his two goals, and finished with a total of four assists on the evening.

“I just found guys open, we had a couple of two-on-ones and I found guys open and they found the back of the net,” said the senior Mauro, who was named the second star of the game. “Coach kind of split us up after the last (Bishop) McCort game because they were keyed in on us, so (Virga) and I play together in spurts. Coach will throw us out there after we give up a goal to see if we can get a quick one.”

Later this week, Franklin Regional will face Bayard Rustin in the state finals Saturday at noon at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center. Bayard Rustin won its fourth-consecutive Flyers Cup this season, and also defeated the Panthers last year to claim the state crown.

“We’re a different team (this year),” said Kurtz. “We’ve been there once, so we’re prepared mentally. Our speed up front this year is a different team and we’re excited about the match-up.”

Score By Period:

Indiana Little Indians  :  0–1–0–1
Franklin Regional Panthers  :  2–3–1–6

Scoring Summary:

Period 1

Franklin Regional: Oldrich Virag (Justin Gismondi, Nick Carretta) 13:50

Franklin Regional: Mathieu Sliva (Jamie Mauro, Gavin Fusting) 15:50

Period 2

Franklin Regional: Cameron Huffman (Jamie Mauro, Ethan Yohe) 3:03

Indiana: Aaron Burkhart (Ethan Boyer) 9:55

Franklin Regional: Nick Carretta (Oldrich Virag) 10:07

Franklin Regional: Justin Gismondi (Jamie Mauro) 13:54

Period 3

Franklin Regional: Oldrich Virag (power play) (Jamie Mauro, Nick Carretta) 10:33

3 Stars:

3 – Justin Grismondi, Franklin Regional (two assists)

2 – Jamie Mauro, Franklin Regional (four assists)

1 – Oldrich Virag, Franklin Regional (two goals, one assist)

Tags: Franklin Regional, Indiana