PIHL Penguins Cup playoffs begin in Monday’s 3 things to watch

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, March 5, 2018 | 11:24 AM

The puck drops Monday evening on the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League Penguins Cup playoffs. There are nine games on opening night with five first round games and four quarterfinal contests.

Those two rounds will take place this week, setting the stage for the Penguins Cup Final Four next week at the RMU Sports Complex on Neville Island in Class 3A, 2A, A and Division II with two games each night Monday through Thursday. The championships will take place Feb. 19 and 20 at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry.

First round

The five PIHL Penguins Cup first round games Monday consist of the two Class 2A play-in games and three opening-round contests in Class A.

In Class 2A, Shaler needed a victory over Penn-Trafford last week to qualify of the first round. The Titans will battle Quaker Valley at the Baierl Ice Complex in Warrendale at 9 p.m.. The Quakers finished in fourth place in the West Division. The fourth-place team in the East Division is also in action as Franklin Regional will host Mars at Center Ice in Delmont at 7 p.m. Both games can be heard on the TribLive High School Sports Network.

Franklin Regional is the two-time defending champ from Class A, but the Panthers moved up to 2A this season. In fact, between Franklin Regional, Mars and Quaker Valley, those three schools have won the last 10 Penguins Cup Class A championships.

In the three Class A first-round games Monday, sixth-place South Fayette will host Chartiers Valley at the Mt. Lebanon Ice Arena at 7 p.m. on the TribLive High School Sports Network.

Seventh-place Westmont-Hilltop hosts South Park at 8:10 p.m. at the old Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown, and, in the 8-9 contest, Fox Chapel battles Sewickley Academy at 8:30 p.m. form the RMU Sports Complex. Watch that game live at TribHSSN.TribLive.com

Quarterfinals

The Class 2A and Class A quarterfinal game are scheduled for Thursday, but seven of the eight Class 3A games and the Division II quarterfinals will be split over Monday and Tuesday.

The lone Class 3A quarterfinal contest on Monday is seventh-place Bethel Park taking on second-place Seneca Valley at the Baierl Ice Complex at 7 p.m. on the TribLive High School Sports Network. The Raiders finished 12-6, but lost two of their last three games. The Black Hawks were 7-11 for the season but were 7-6 after a 0-5 start. The two teams split low-scoring games during the regular season with Bethel Park winning in December, 2-1, while Seneca Valley prevailed in a January meeting 3-1.

In the Division II quarterfinals Monday, regular-season champion Moon hosts Central Valley at the Baierl Ice Complex at 8:30 p.m. while second-place finisher Ringgold hosts Trinity at the Rostraver Ice Garden at 7:15 p.m. Third-place Burrell hosts Kennedy Catholic at the Pittsburgh Ice Arena in New Kensington at 9 p.m. with those last two games also being broadcast on the Trib Live High School Sports Network.

Don Rebel is a TribLIVE High School Sports Network broadcaster and staff writer. Reach him at drebel@tribweb.com.

Tags: Bethel Park, Burrell, Central Valley, Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, Mars, Moon, Quaker Valley, Ringgold, Seneca Valley, Sewickley Academy, Shaler, South Park, Trinity