CRANBERRY TWP., PA — Senior Riley Mastowski stopped 34 shots as Gio Vaentines third period goal was the difference for Neshannock as the PIHL Division-2 Championship stays with the Lancers after a 2-1 victory over Bishop Canevin on Tuesday night at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. Neshannock’s victory is the second in a row for the squad that emerged from Kennedy Catholic a fewseasons ago.
— Mitch (@PHD_Mitch) March 23, 2022
“I couldn’t be prouder of the guys.” Mastowski said after the game. “We battled every inch of the way, its a phenomenal feeling, I think it feels better than the first one.”
The Lancers, who started the season 2-4-0-2, had a rough road to get to the postseason, never said never to get to where they were – and that includes finishing the season on a 13 game win streak.
Mark Multari postgame pic.twitter.com/hvHaH2j1hy
— Mitch (@PHD_Mitch) March 23, 2022
“We never quit.” Head Coach Mark Multari said. “We were down early in the year, just couldn’t find the rhythm. We had a sit-down, we had a heart-to-heart with everybody and we just found the way to dig back in. Told them to take their time, don’t worry about standings, when it all counts we will be in the playoffs and we will take care of business.”
It was a goaltending duel in the finals as Mastowski faced off with Adam Serakowski, who was a dynamo in the regular season for the Crusaders and the game was no different. Serakowski, who finished with 13 saves, kept Bishop Canevin in the contest throughout.
Neshannock opened up the scoring on Micha DeJulia’s second period tally at 3:57 and continued to give the Crusaders fits, with multiple penalties and increased hitting through the stanza before Ian Lecker tied the contest at 14:02.
Valentine’s floating shot that beat Serakowski high at 7:37 of a very clean third period was the difference in a contest that was anything but high scoring.
UP NEXT
Bishop Canevin Crusaders play in the USA Hockey Nationals beginning Thursday in Dallas, TX.
GALLERY BY ED MAJOR AND JARED TODHUNTER:
AUTHORS NOTE
I want to thank everyone that has helped in any way or form this journey we have been on at Pittsburgh Hockey Digest. As announced on twitter, this was my last full ITR coverage for the foreseeable future, at least a season, a bittersweet feeling for me indeed. After countless miles, many #quietemptyarenas and by making more connections than Delta Airlines in Atlanta, I hope that I have helped bring anyone that wished for our little corner of the world a little more clarity and belief that our little sport can be showcased on a semi-full time basis. Who knows what will happen in the future, but I just want to say thank you for the past 6 years at Pittsburgh Hockey Digest and 8 years overall covering this glorious sport. We aren’t done yet – Get ready for a supercharged PIHL all-stars Sunday on April 3… I have a few things left to do that could surprise you.
Also, thanks to Alan Saunders for making this all possible. He’s the genius that let me be in charge of something like this.
