PIHL High School Hockey Notebook – 03/05/2012

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, March 5, 2012 | 4:54 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’s winning streak has reached 10 games, with the unbeaten streak at 11 … Defending state champion Upper St. Clair has gotten hot at the right time, winning two in a row to get above the .500 mark … Penn-Trafford has won two straight and has earned a point in its last five outings.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

3/2/12 – Non-section: Bethel Park 2, North Allegheny 1 … The Black Hawks continue to roll and end the Tigers’ regular campaign on a sour note … Zach Morton grabbed an early 1-0 lead for North Allegheny just 1:34 into the contest … Bethel Park tied it less than five minutes later, though, getting a shorthanded goal from Dale Reither … He would also set up the winner for Derek Lesnak at 5:57 of the second period … Alex Blum stopped 13 shots to pick up the win.

3/2/12 – Non-section: Canon-McMillan 5, Pittsburgh Central Catholic 1 … The Big Macs ensure they will not lose consecutive games this year while stopping a four-game unbeaten streak for the Vikings … Canon-McMillan scored the first goal late in period one, but Travis Cully tied it for Pittsburgh Central just 2:14 later … The Big Macs exploded for three goals in the second, though, and closed out the scoring at 11:00 of period three … Zack McKown scored the winner while Nick Harrison and Carmen Dalesandro each put up one goal and one assist … Ryan Christian made 31 saves to help seal the victory.

PIHL CLASS AA:

MELTING THE ICE

Moon has won three consecutive contests … Everybody is hot in Section 2 with Chartiers Valley having won its last eight games, Erie Cathedral Prep earning a point in five straight and Bishop Canevin capturing back-to-back victories … Gateway is currently enjoying a hat trick of two-point efforts.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

3/1/12 – Non-section: Bishop Canevin 4, Latrobe 1 … The Crusaders keep themselves within reach of catching Chartiers Valley atop Section 2 while the Wildcats have now lost two in a row … Bishop Canevin drew first blood just 35 seconds in, but Drew Tonks tied it for Latrobe at the 8:33 mark … Chadd Lounder netted the winner 38 ticks into period two, and Randy Unger would add two insurance goals in the third, one of them coming on the power play … Lounder added one assist, Matt Walsh set up two goals and Pete Karney picked up two points (1 G, 1 A) … Nikita Meskin was not very busy, but he still made 13 saves in the winning effort.

3/2/12 – Non-section: Gateway 9, North Hills 3 … The Gators extend their winning streak and leave the Indians still looking over their shoulders at Montour for the final playoff spot … Jordan Mardirossian singlehandedly ended this one in the first 11:38 by scoring four times, including once on the power play and then shorthanded for the eventual winner … It was 6-0 Gateway by the time North Hills scored the first of its three power play goals on the night, and the deficit just proved to be too much … Mardirossian finished the night with six points total (5 G, 1 A), including one more shorthanded tally … Troy McAteer contributed four points (PPG, 3 A), John Kasper’s two goals included one while down a man, Jake DeHass set up three goals and Camden Cacolice picked up two assists in the winning effort … Brett Berner (PPG, 1 A) and Jake Lydon (2 A) were the multi-point getters in defeat … Tyler Perhac stopped 31 shots for Gateway.

PIHL CLASS A:

MELTING THE ICE

Serra Catholic has earned a point in its last three appearances … It took a 17-game unbeaten streak to do it, but Quaker Valley has clinched the Section 2 title … Kittanning has locked up Section 3 with seven consecutive victories … Westmont Hilltop has picked up points in back-to-back games.

SCOREBOARD WATCH

3/1/12 – Non-section: Westmont Hilltop 7, Thomas Jefferson 5 … The Hilltoppers are building momentum heading into the postseason while the Jaguars are left feeling grateful they already had enough points to lock up the final spot in the bracket … Westmont Hilltop scored first and led 3-1 after one … It was 6-3 after two, and Thomas Jefferson cut the deficit to 6-5 early in the third, but Zak Kindya added some insurance at 9:56 … Noah McQuillan paced Westmont with four points (3 G, 1 A), Kindya finished with three points (1 G, 2 A) and Tim Smith contributed two helpers along with Zach Nedrewski … Kyle Miller paced TJ with four points (2 G, 2 A) while Ryan Beveridge chipped in two (1 G, 1 A) … Adam Ayre made 27 saves for the win, but tip your cap to the 51 stops made by Nick Ripepi at the other end.

3/1/12 – Section 1: Serra Catholic 8, South Park 0 … Serra Catholic sweeps the season series and officially eliminates South Park from the playoff chase … Garner Kraemer scored the only goal the Eagles would need 2:01 into the contest, part of a five-goal first period … Kraemer finished with four points (1 G, 3 A), but Robert Kendi outdid him with five (1 G, 4 A) … Nocholas Vacsulka included two power play goals in his hat trick while Tyler Speis added three points (1 G, 2 A) … Travis Marzina made 14 saves to earn the shutout.

THEY SAID IT:

“Ford City is the standard in the Open Class. With 4:27 left they scored and had the lead. The most impressive thing to me as a coach when I looked down the bench, in the past maybe you would have seen some heads hanging, but the boys weren’t out of it. And for me that’s probably the thing I’ll take away from it all.” – Greensburg Salem assistant coach Shawn Austad on the resolve of his team to defeat the Sabers in the Chiefs Cup Semifinals

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 set the stage for the Penguins Cup Playoffs and preview the Open Cup Final. The exclusive home for the 2012 Penguins Cup Playoffs is the MSA Sports Network!

Tags: Bethel Park, Bishop Canevin, Canon-McMillan, Chartiers Valley, Erie Cathedral Prep, Gateway, Greensburg Salem, Kittanning, Latrobe, Upper St. Clair, Westmont Hilltop