PIHL High School Hockey Notebook – 02/06/2012

By: Bruce Markey
Monday, February 6, 2012 | 11:18 AM

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” along with the most scintillating games from the past week in our “Scoreboard Watch.” Plus, we preview MSA broadcasts for the week ahead and provide a sampling of what our guests had to say on last week’s show in “They Said It.”

PIHL CLASS AAA:

MELTING THE ICE

In Section 1, Peters Township has won two straight while Bethel Park’s unbeaten streak stands at six games, the last five or which have yielded two points … North Allegheny is the only hot hand in Section 2 after collecting a hat trick of victories … Pittsburgh Central Catholic has collected a point in its last two contests and has lost consecutive games only once this season … State College is smoking with four straight wins and a tie before that.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

1/31/12 – Non-section: Fox Chapel 5, Seneca Valley 4 … If you were at this one and left early, you missed one heck of a comeback … The Raiders led 1-0 after one and stormed to a 4-0 lead by the 4:02 mark of the second … The Foxes refused to quietly, though, cutting it to 4-3 by intermission and scoring two goals 16 seconds apart in the third to steal the two points … Christian Wirginis starred for Fox Chapel with four points (3 G, 1 PP, 1 A) while Cam Zmenkowski netted the winner … Chris Marziotto scored twice for Seneca Valley, once on the man advantage, while Ben Jarrett set up three goals and Logan Rose collected two points (1 G, 1 A) … Tyler Fannie made 20 saves to earn the victory while Ethan Helbig stopped 23 shots.

2/3/12 – Non-section: McDowell 6, Norwin 5 (OT) … Another stellar comeback keeps McDowell firmly in the playoff picture while Norwin loses its second in a row … The Knights led 1-0 after one and then 4-0 at 6:41 of the second, a lead built with two power play tallies and one shorthanded marker … The Trojans, however, would make it 4-4 before the Zamboni made its appearance … Norwin regained the lead at 9:06 of the third, but McDowell sent it to overtime just 1:36 later … In the extra session, the Knights blinked and took a penalty which Ryan Guzek made them pay for with 48 seconds left on the clock … Alex Margraf (3 G, 1 A) and Zach Poe (2 G, 1 PP, 2 A) paced the Trojans with four points apiece … Dan Merz (SHG, 3 A) matched that point total for Norwin while Tim Palmer (2 G, 1 A) and Kevin Saska (2 A) also contributed multiple points … It was a not a stellar night for the goaltenders, but 21 saves were enough for Tyler Sutula to pick up the win.
 

PIHL CLASS AA:

MELTING THE ICE

West Allegheny’s league-best winning streak has reached 12 games … In Section 2, Bishop Canevin’s unbeaten streak now stands at nine while Chartiers Valley has won two straight … Section 4 finds Latrobe having registered five consecutive two-point efforts and Pine-Richland with three in a row.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

2/2/12 – Section 2: Erie Cathedral Prep 2, Bishop Canevin 2 (OT) … This section has brought us plenty of excitement all season, and this game was no exception as the Crusaders’ winning streak stops at eight … After a scoreless first, Bishop Canevin got power play goals from Marc Slomiany and Garrett Godlewski in the second … Chris Coombs sandwiched a goal for the Ramblers in between, though, making it 2-1 at the break … It almost ended that way, but Tyler Orlando stole a point from the clutches of defeat with a mere 28 seconds left in regulation …Coombs also collected an assist while Pete Zaphiris helped set up both goals for Erie Cathedral Prep … Brennen Adams picked up two assists for the Crusaders … Nikita Meskin made 18 saves for Bishop Canevin while Jacob Varo turned aside 17 shots at the other end.

2/2/12 – Non-section: Plum 4, Gateway 1 … The Mustangs manage to leapfrog the Gators into a tie with Moon for the seventh seed in the playoff bracket … It was all Plum in this one, leading 2-0 after one and 3-0 through 30 minutes … Gateway would get a shorthanded goal from Zach Dusch at 12:35 of the third, but Andrew Pagano scored during the same penalty 31 seconds later to seal the victory … Andrew Walters scored twice for Plum, including the winner, while Dave Stonebraker racked up three assists … Tyler Perhac stopped 27 shots in a losing effort while Taylor Cestra made 21 saves.
 

PIHL CLASS A:

MELTING THE ICE

Serra Catholic has built a six-point edge over South Fayette atop Section 1 thanks to four straight wins … Quaker Valley has kept pace with West Allegheny’s 12-game string while Mars is on a three-game roll following its first loss of the campaign … Freeport continues to lead Section 3 with four consecutive victories, holding a two-point edge on Westmont Hilltop and is three better than Kittanning, the latter of which has won three in a row.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

1/30/12 – Section 1: South Fayette 4, Thomas Jefferson 3 … This decision could go a long way toward securing the Lions a playoff spot while the Jaguars remain precariously on the bubble … Thomas Jefferson threw everything but the kitchen sink at South Fayette, but it was the Lions who held a 3-0 lead after one … It was 4-1 after two, and TJ got two early markers in period three, but would get no closer … Blake Barber (1 G, 3 A) and Ryan Schultz (2 G, 1 A) collected multiple points for South Fayette while Nick Shultz scored the winner on the power play … Matt Bowers (1 G, 1 A) paced the Jaguars … Ryan Puccetti was a busy man with 43 saves to secure the victory.

2/2/12 – Non-section: Freeport 3, Hampton 1 … Any lingering doubts about Freeport’s ability to contend for a championship should be laid to rest after this result … After a scoreless first, Hunter Kepple got the Yellowjackets on the board just 1:44 into the second … Luke Leya tied it at 11:59, but Cole Hepler scored the winner at 14:59 … Nicholas Zidek tacked on the empty-netter at 13:21 of the third, his second point of the evening … Cam Radna stopped 17 shots for Hampton while Cody Lee made 19 saves to pick up the two points.

PIHL OPEN CLASS:

MELTING THE ICE

Section 1 is full of hot teams with John Marshall having collected a point in its last nine outings, Wheeling Park and Morgantown sporting winning streaks of three and two games respectively, and Wheeling Central Catholic finally getting to .500 after picking up its sixth consecutive victory … Quigley has earned a point in four straight … Ford City has gotten two points on 11 straight occasions, but its hold on first place in Section 3 stands at just three points thanks to Indiana having won three in a row … Baldwin now leads Section 4 by a single point with the winning streak now at 10 games … Carrick is keeping its foot on the gas with five straight decisions.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

1/30/12 – Non-section: Hollidaysburg 5, Ringgold 3 … The Golden Tigers get an important win to keep themselves in the Chiefs Cup bracket and the Rams on the outside looking in … Ringgold built an early 2-0 lead, but it was 2-2 after 15 minutes … Hollidaysburg took the second period by a 2-1 count and added a power play goal early in the third to close out the scoring … Brandon Ritchey (3 G, 2 A) led all scorers while Brent Heaton (2 G, 1 PP, 2 A) netted the winner … George Schoedel (1 G, 1 A) paced Ringgold with two points.

1/30/12 – Section 2: Blackhawk 3, Quigley 3 (OT) … The rubber match in the regular season series between these two clubs winds up leaving both with 1-1-1 marks as the Spartans see their three-game winning streak end … They traded goals all the way through with the Cougars leading 1-0 after one, but it was 2-2 at intermission … Kyle Schaefer gave Blackhawk the lead at 9:22 of the third, but they failed to hold on as Nicholas Santiago netted the equalizer at 11:14 … Schaefer also picked up an assist to pace his squad … Santiago finished with two points himself while Doug Simon (1 G, 2 A) led all scorers with three points … Preston Charlton stopped 22 shots for Quigley, but Grant Rombold was the star of this show with 39 saves.
 

UPCOMING MSA BROADCASTS

2/6/12 – Class A – Non-section: Quaker Valley @ Hampton … The Quakers will try to maintain control of Section 1 while the Talbots look to end a two-game skid … This one should be a defensive struggle with Quaker Valley boasting the top mark in the league at 19 goals allowed while Hampton is second in the class with 24 … Doug Revak has played the most minutes between the pipes for QV with a 6-1-0 record, 2.10 GAA and 0.890 save percentage … Cam Radna has been simply brilliant in taking over for Sam Wilson at Hampton, carrying a 6-2-1 mark, 2.17 GAA, 0.918 save percentage and one shutout through January … Ryan Dickson of Quaker Valley is the most exciting offensive player in this one, bringing 17 goals, eight of those on the power play, and 44 points to the table … The puck drops at 7:10 PM with Steve Nagler and Josh Rowntree on the call.

THEY SAID IT:

“We knocked off Mars, so we know what it takes now. I think we just need some hard work. We don’t have all the skill in the league, but if everyone plays their role, we have proven we are the best team in the league.” – Westmont Hilltop defenseman and co-captain Zak Kindya on how the Hilltoppers can make a run at the gold medal this spring.

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 one half of Norwin’s one-two punch between the pipes, Scott Cromling. Plus, Hampton head coach Dan Serakowski will be along (and this time we mean it) 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, Carrick, Chartiers Valley, Erie Cathedral Prep, Erie McDowell, Ford City, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Hampton, Hollidaysburg, John Marshall (WV), Latrobe, West Allegheny, Westmont Hilltop, Wheeling Central Catholic (WV), Wheeling Park