What to watch for in H.S. sports for March 7, 2022: PIHL Penguins Cup playoffs commence

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, March 6, 2022 | 10:01 PM

The puck drops on the 2022 PIHL postseason this week with six quarterfinals games Monday, seven more Tuesday and the final three Thursday.

The PIHL Penguins Cup playoffs are made up of eight teams in Class 3A, 2A and A. The winners this week advance to the semifinals set for four days next week.

The PIHL also hosts a Division II playoffs for teams made up of players from several different schools. There are eight teams in the Division II playoffs, as well.

The four champions from 2021 were North Allegheny in 3A, Baldwin (now playing in 3A) in 2A, Indiana in Class A and Neshannock in Division II.

Tight Triple A

North Allegheny won the regular season Class 3A championship by five points over Pine-Richland.

However, the race for second was tight throughout the season with only 12 points separating second place from eighth place in the standings.

There was very little separation between the fourth- and fifth-place finishers, thus a quarterfinals home game was decided by only one point.

Mt. Lebanon ended up with 25 points while Seneca Valley finished with 24 points. Thus, the Blue Devils will host the Raiders in one of two 3A games Monday.

Mt. Lebanon beat Seneca Valley twice in the regular season by two goals each time.

Central Catholic visits Pine-Richland in the other 3A game Monday.

The two teams just met last Monday with the Rams knocking off the Vikings, 4-1.

Indians vs. Foxes again

Two days after North Hills and Fox Chapel squared off in the WPIAL Class 6A boys basketball championship, the Indians and Foxes are ready to go at it again, this time on ice.

The two are set to face off in a Class A quarterfinals contest in Harmarville on Monday.

The Class 6A basketball game saw little offense as Fox Chapel upended North Hills.

In hockey this season, the Foxes had the best team defense in Class A while the Indians were fifth.

The only meeting between the two this year took place Jan. 10 when Fox Chapel defeated North Hills, 6-2.

Tags: Fox Chapel, Mt. lebanon, North Allegheny, North Hills, Seneca Valley