Underdog Penn-Trafford uses 4-goal flurry to set up Penguins Cup 2A final matchup with Thomas Jefferson
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Tuesday, March 12, 2024 | 10:42 PM
Penn-Trafford’s Jack Blank (17) chips a shot over Norwin goalie Owen Brunmeister and the net while Parker Toth (77) looks on during the PIHL Class 2A Penguins Cup semifinals Tuesday.
Norwin’s Dom Constantino (16) is stopped by Penn-Trafford goalie Tyler Funk with some help from Chase Bonson (68) during a PIHL Class 2A Penguins Cup semifinal Tuesday.
Norwin’s Alex Thomas (85) fires a shot during a PIHL Class 2A Penguins Cup semifinal Tuesday.
Norwin’s Dom Cerilli (28) skates at center ice during a PIHL Class 2A Penguins Cup semifinal Tuesday.
Norwin’s Zayn Zeravica celebrates a goal in the PIHL Class 2A Penguins Cup semifinals Tuesday.
Penn-Trafford’s Bryce Kropczynski (19) takes a shot during the PIHL Class 2A Penguins Cup semifinals Tuesday.
Penn-Trafford players crash the net during a PIHL Class 2A Penguins Cup semifinal Tuesday. Surrounding Franklin Regional goalie Owen Burnmeister are Drew Hall (55), Cam Kiste (22) and Kyler Doran (10). For Norwin are Parker Toth (77) and Aaron Varrati (58).
Penn-Trafford players celebrate a goal by Aiden Drotis in the second period of the PIHL Class 2A Penguins Cup semifinals Tuesday at RMU Island Sports Complex.
Penn-Trafford’s hockey team didn’t end the regular season on a high note.
But they sure picked the right time to get hot.
The underdog Warriors advanced to the 2024 Penguins Cup finals by stunning rival Norwin, the fourth seed, 6-3, Tuesday in a semifinal-round game at Robert Morris University’s Island Sports Center. They are the first team since Canon-McMillan to reach the finals as an eighth seed.
Four goals in a span of 2 minutes, 54 seconds rallied the Warriors from a 2-1 deficit.
Drew Hall scored two goals and added an assist for Penn-Trafford, which will play Thomas Jefferson, which trounced Franklin Regional, 9-3, at 6:15 p.m. Monday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry.
Penn-Trafford, which entered the playoffs losing seven of eight games, knocked off No. 1 seed South Fayette in the opening round, 4-3. Norwin reached the semifinals by rallying to defeat Fox Chapel, 5-2.
“I felt we tired them out in the second period and we took advantage of that,” Penn-Trafford coach Chris Cerutti said. “We’re been up and down all season. We knew we had the talent. We just struggled.
“We’re playing with confidence and we did a good job keeping Norwin out of the middle.”
Norwin took advantage of a turnover to take a 1-0 lead in the first period of a goal by Zayn Zeravica.
Penn-Trafford tied the score early in the second period on a goal by Hall, but a few minutes later, Norwin was up 2-1 on a goal by Joey Vecchio.
“We like the underdog role,” Hall said. “My second goal really sparked us. We don’t care who we play. We just want to win.”
Hall’s line, with Kyler Doran and Bryce Kropczynski, accounted for five goals.
Hall tied the score 2-2 when he took a pass from Doran to beat Norwin goalie Owen Burnmeister at 5:19.
Aiden Drotos gave the Warriors a 3-2 lead with 3:36 left when he squeezed the puck past Burnmeister and the post.
Gavin Patterson scored with 2:50 left to make it 4-2 and Doran finished the onslaught with goal with 2:25 left to make it 5-2.
Norwin made it 5-3 on a goal by Dom Constantino with 12:58 left, but the Knights couldn’t beat Penn-Trafford goalie Tyler Funk.
Jack Blank scored an empty net goal with 40 seconds left to close the scoring.
“It’s tough winning after pulling off an upset,” Cerutti said. “It helped because it was Norwin. These kids know each other well. Now we have to prepare for our first trip to the finals.”
Thomas Jefferson 9, Franklin Regional 3
A big second period and quick answers helped No. 2 Thomas Jefferson reach the PIHL Class 2A Penguins Cup championship for the second time in three seasons. The Jaguars won the title in 2022.
Franklin Regional had leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the first period on goals by Max Rutkowski and Max Williams, but TJ’s Jake Stock made the leads short-lived by scoring 18 and 19 seconds afterwards.
It was all TJ in the second period as the Jaguars used their speed to get goals by Scott Allen, Derek Schliebner and Ryder McGuirk and take a 5-2 lead.
Franklin Regional picked up the intensity and scored early in the third period. A goal by Nick Matus trimmed the lead to 5-3.
Thomas Jefferson responded after a couple big saves by Ronnie Porupsky. Stock scored his third goal of the game and Andrew Oliver scored 28 second later to make it 7-3. Allan added his second goal of the game with 9:41 left in the game.
Allan scored his third goal of the game on the power play.
Franklin Regional chased TJ’s starting goalie Aiden Daugherty after Williams’ goal with 9:29 left in the opening period.
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
Tags: Franklin Regional, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Thomas Jefferson
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