Pine-Richland notebook: Ty Voit having big season in junior hockey

By: Jerin Steele
Sunday, February 13, 2022 | 11:01 AM

The Toronto Maple Leafs selected Pine resident Ty Voit in the fifth round of the NHL Entry Draft in July and he’s shown this season why he was considered a pro prospect.

Voit, 18, led the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League with 46 points through Feb 9. He had 13 goals and 33 assists. He ranked 11th in the OHL in assists.

Voit is one of five players on the Sting that have their rights with NHL teams.

The OHL canceled the 2020-21 season amidst the ongoing pandemic. In 2019-20, Voit recorded eight goals and 20 assists in 48 games.

It’ll likely be Voit’s final season in junior hockey before he makes his professional debut. Voit signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Maple Leafs in December.

Dowiak finds home in USHL

Another Pine native making his way through the amateur hockey ranks, Dane Dowiak, has settled in with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL, the top junior hockey league in the United States.

Dowiak had appeared in 34 games through Feb. 9 and had seven goals and six assists. Tri-City was at the top of the USHL’s Western Conference with a 29-5-2 record. The team is located in Kearney, Neb.

Dowiak is once again getting regular game action after a 2020-21 season that was impacted by the pandemic.

He was originally scheduled to join the Cranbrook Bucks of the British Columbia Hockey League last year, but the season was halted during the preseason and eventually canceled. He got a handful of games with Rochester (NY) Coalition 18U AAA team.

Dowiak is a Penn State recruit and can join the Nittany Lions next season.

Wrestlers win at home

The Pine-Richland grapplers were defeated by Kiski Area in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A tournament, but rebounded just a couple days later, going 5-0 at the Ram Duals to take home the team title.

The Rams scored wins over Hampton, Mt. Lebanon, Conneaut, Moon and Hempfield.

Shane Simpson, Anthony Ferraro, Dante Cruz and Joey Schneck went a perfect 5-0 on the day.

Pine-Richland won its final dual match of the season Feb. 10 over Fox Chapel, 39-33.

The final few dual matches provided a tune-up for individual tournament season, which begins for Pine-Richland with sectionals Feb. 26 at North Allegheny.

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer

Tags: Pine-Richland