PIHL High School Hockey Notebook – Class A Preview

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, October 22, 2012 | 1:11 PM

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Welcome to another edition of “PIHL Notebook” as we continue our comprehensive preview of the 2012-13 high school hockey season. Today we take a look at the dozen teams vying for the Class A championship. Not fielding teams this season are Sewickley Academy and Knoch. Hampton has moved up to Class AA as you saw last week, and Deer Lakes rejoins the fray after taking a year off from varsity competition. A necessary reshuffling of the sections with all that movement makes this the most changed of the three major classifications.

So, what does this mean for your favorite program? Can Quaker Valley successfully defend its state title? Can Mars regain the throne after seeing its run of three straight Penguins Cup victories come to a halt, or will this finally be the down year for the program some have predicted? Is this finally the year Kittanning clears the last hurdle, or will perennial favorites like Serra Catholic or Westmont Hilltop don the gold medals? Read on as we break down the field.

(Teams listed in order of 2011-12 winning percentage)

SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE

SECTION 1:

Serra Catholic Eagles

2011-12 record: 12-5-2; 1^st Section 1

2011-12 playoffs: Lost in Quarterfinals

Key departures: Garner Kraemer (27 G, 20 A); Robert Kendi (14 G, 27 A)

Key projected returns: Tyler Speis (18 G, 19 A); Nicholas Vacsulka (13 G, 5 A)

The skinny: The Eagles boasted the fourth-best offense with 99 goals, helping them to a section title. The defense was also solid, with 61 allowed ranking seventh, but evidently was not quite enough to get Serra beyond round two of the postseason. The front line will suffer a bit with three of the top four scorers gone, including top ten finisher Kraemer, but Speis leads a talented group of underclassmen which should prove capable of carrying the torch. Travis Marzina (10-5-2, 2.51 GAA, 0.892 SV %, 2 SO) will be missed, but Ian Ritchie (2-0-0, 2.00 GAA, 0.867 SV %, 1 SO) was solid enough in the backup role to provide cause for optimism.

South Fayette Lions

2011-12 record: 8-10-1; 2^nd Section 1

2011-12 playoffs: Lost in First Round

Key departures: Nick Schultz (26 G, 23 A); Blake Barber (16 G, 12 A)

Key projected returns: Ryan Schultz (17 G, 13 A); Joe Testa (8 G, 22 A)

The skinny: The Lions were one of six teams to allow more than 100 goals, and only four teams did worse than their 77 scored. Still, South Fayette made the playoffs and finished with a respectable record, so a “glass half full” viewpoint is perfectly valid. Two out of four players with at least 28 points are back, so call that a push despite losing top ten finisher Nick Schultz. Between the pipes is where the season could swing either way for this bunch as now senior Nicholas Blocher (4-8-1, 6.54 GAA, 0.792 SV %, 1 SO) looks to improve his numbers across the board.

Thomas Jefferson Jaguars

2011-12 record: 6-13-0; 3^rd Section 1

2011-12 playoffs: Lost in Quarterfinals

Key departures: Kyle Miller (31 G, 15 A); Robert Deliman (7 G, 6 A)

Key projected returns: Thomas Kimmick (10 G, 10 A); Zach Uhlyar (10 G, 10 A)

The skinny: Give the Jaguars credit. Despite finishing well under 0.500, they managed a playoff victory thanks mostly to an offense which tallied a seventh-best 85 goals. It was the 118 allowed which probably kept them from going any further. The offense can rejoice in getting five out of eight 10-point getters back, although tenth leading scorer Miller scored over a third of his team’s goals. As for the goaltending, Anthony Piccioni (5-6-0, 5.53 GAA, 0.815 SV %) is gone, leaving junior Nick Ripepi (2-7-0, 7.05 GAA, 0.773 SV %) needing to improve himself and, hopefully by extension, the defense in front of him.

SECTION 2:

Quaker Valley Quakers

2011-12 record: 17-1-1; 1^st Section 2

2011-12 playoffs: Won Penguins & Pennsylvania Cups

Key departures: Kevin Kenny (17 G, 30 A); Doug Revak (9-1-1, 1.78 GAA, 0.897 SV %, 1 SO)

Key projected returns: Ryan Dickson (20 G, 36 A); Jonathan Pijar (7-0-0, 0.807 GAA, 0.929 SV %, 1 SO)

The skinny: The Quakers more than led the class with just 25 goals allowed, and only Kittanning scored more than their 144, helping propel the program to its third Penguins Cup in the last six years. After three straight seasons playing second fiddle to Mars, is Quaker Valley ready to be the team with the target on its back again? With five out of eight 20-point performers still in the fold, including fifth leading scorer Dickson, and Pijar appearing more than capable of taking over for Revak as a senior, the answer would appear to be yes.

Mars Planets

2011-12 record: 17-2-0; 2^nd Section 2

2011-12 playoffs: Lost in Finals

Key departures: Nicholas Blaney (31 G, 24 A); Joe Bender (13 G, 22 A)

Key projected returns: Austin Heakins (26 G, 38 A); Alex Stepke (8-0-0, 1.69 GAA, 0.884 SV %, 3 SO)

The skinny: The Planets finished third in the class with 138 goals for and 40 against. Certainly impressive numbers for any program, but not finishing at the top is unfamiliar territory for this program. Ironic that Mars finished number three in both categories in also seeing its run of consecutive Penguins Cup victories end at three. This team still has plenty of weapons, though, with three out of six 20-point getters returning, including fourth leading scorer Heakins. One thing to keep an eye on is whether Stepke sees more minutes as a junior after posting the better numbers in fewer minutes than Christian Knapp (8-2-0, 2.68 GAA, 0.884 SV %, 2 SO).

South Park Eagles

2011-12 record: 3-16-0; 4^th Section 1

2011-12 playoffs: N/A

Key departures: Jordan Dean (12 G, 4 A); Ross Guidotti (4 G, 5 A)

Key projected returns: Billy Walker (4 G, 12 A); Cam Sabatini (9 G, 4 A)

The skinny: It was a rough year for the Eagles. Only three teams scored fewer goals while just two allowed more. It will be something of a rebuilding year with seven seniors gone, but three of the team’s four double-digit scorers are back, so there is at least a foundation in place. As for the goaltending, junior Joey Recktenwald (3-8-0, 5.55 GAA, 0.830 SV %) should see his minutes increased with both of his backups having graduated.

 

NORTHEAST CONFERENCE

SECTION 3:

Kittanning Wildcats

2011-12 record: 13-5-1; 1^st Section 3

2011-12 playoffs: Lost in Semifinals

Key departures: Heinz Koster (48 G, 43 A); Ryan Toy (3 G, 13 A)

Key projected returns: Christian Miller (39 G, 30 A); Hunter Grafton (26 G, 42 A)

The skinny: Three straight appearances in the semifinals and zero in the finals – a disappointing statistic for the Kittanning program, but one which they have all the talent to change. Consider that despite losing the Class A scoring champion in Koster to graduation, the Wildcats return the two guys who finished right behind him in Miller and Grafton, and in fact didn’t lose anybody else who scored 17 points or more. In other words, this team could easily lead the pack again offensively (152 GF). The defense was solid as well, placing sixth with 56 allowed, and it returns Cameron Langham (9-2-0, 1.91 GAA, 0.903 SV %, 3 SO) for his senior season.

Freeport Yellowjackets

2011-12 record: 10-7-2; 3^rd Section 3

2011-12 playoffs: Lost in Quarterfinals

Key departures: Cody Lee (10-7-2, 2.47 GAA, 0.903 SV %, 1 SO)

Key projected returns: Cole Hepler (18 G, 18 A); Gregory Newman (12 G, 14 A)

The skinny: Freeport is a program which continues to do a lot with little in the way of superstar talent, but more than makes up for it in work ethic. Surely knowing such dedication yielded a Penguins Cup title in 2007 has helped spur the next generation on, but the number five defense in the class (48 GA) does have a tough task ahead without standout keeper Lee. Yellowjackets fans will just have to hope Dominic Digiacobbe (2.47 GAA, 0.800 SV %) paid close attention to his counterpart last year. Offensively, nobody who graduated made a significant contribution, so one would think improving on 77 goals scored is doable.

Deer Lakes Lancers

2011-12 record: N/A

The skinny: After finishing 1-20-0 in 2010-11, the Deer Lakes program took a year to rebuild at the junior varsity level. So how did it go? The Lancers finished third in Section 2 with a 13-4-1 record with 72 goals for and 29 allowed, the latter number ranking them fourth out of 36 teams. How this all translates back onto the big stage is obviously yet to be determined, but we will start finding out in one short week.

SECTION 4:

Westmont Hilltop Hilltoppers

2011-12 record: 10-6-3; 2^nd Section 3

2011-12 playoffs: Lost in Quarterfinals

Key departures: Noah McQuillan (20 G, 15 A); Zak Kindya (8 G, 23 A)

Key projected returns: Zach Nedrewski (8 G, 16 A); Stephen Demarco (7 G, 14 A)

The skinny: After sharing a section, and thus the spotlight, with Kittanning over the past three seasons, one of the perennial favorites in Class A could be poised to claim the top spot in its new home. Granted the Hilltoppers need to replace their top two scorers, one of whom captained the team admirably in Kindya, not to mention stalwart goaltender Adam Ayre (9-4-3, 2.57 GAA, 0.871 SV %, 1 SO). Can Westmont Hilltop finish in the top five offensively (98 GF) and defensively (46 GA) in ’12-‘13? With the other eight 10-point getters returning along with solid backup Sebastian Ragno (1-1-0, 1.88 GAA, 0.786 SV %, 1 SO), there is not yet a reason to think otherwise.

Bishop McCort Crimson Crushers

2011-12 record: 5-14-0; 4^th Section 3

2011-12 playoffs: N/A

Key departures: Zach Block (7 G, 4 A); James Stenger (5-14-0, 5.84 GAA, 0.864 SV %, 1 SO)

Key projected returns: Nathan James (12 G, 7 A); Ryan Siwy (7 G, 9 A)

The skinny: The PIHL missed Bishop McCort when it was unexpectedly not around in 2010-11, and there was much excitement surrounding its return last season. That being said, 45 goals scored and 111 allowed en route to a last place finish in Section 3 is definitely not what the program had in mind for its return. Perhaps it can be attributed to youth, and one assumes a year of experience will help. The top three scorers all return to the lineup, but the Crimson Crushers do face the tall task of replacing a backstop in Stenger who was better than his senior campaign would indicate.

Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions

2011-12 record: 1-18-0; 3^rd Section 4

2011-12 playoffs: N/A

Key departures: Domenic Antonucci (16 G, 9 A); Ryan McHugh (5 G, 6 A)

Key projected returns: Zach Banko (2 G, 7 A); Nicholas Benjamin (3 G, 5 A)

The skinny: Greensburg Central Catholic decided it was ready to test the waters in Class A last season and made the move up from the Open Class. Suffice it to say the welcome wagon never really showed up, at least not the friendly one, as the Centurions finished dead last offensively and defensively. It may not help that the only double-digit scorers graduated, but then again those were the only two seniors, so one hopes continuity and knowing it literally can’t get any worse will breed more victories in year two.

This completes the hat trick on our PIHL season preview, but we have one more left in us, especially since next Monday marks the beginning of the season. So, check back next week for a look inside the Open Class. Your home for the 2013 Penguins Cup Playoffs is the MSA Sports Network!