Pine-Richland shut out J. Serra Catholic and Burrell beat Boulder/Monarch on the first day of the 2019 USA Hockey High School National Championships in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Rams got goals from Brian Phipps, Joseph Folmer and Jared Eggert — all on the power play — and Daniel Stauffer recorded his second straight shutout, making all 13 saves, as Pine-Richland started pool play with a 1-0 record.
Phipps scored 5:09 into the game to give the Rams a lead on their second power-play opportunity of the game. Brandon Will assisted J. Serra Catholic (Calif.) gave Pine-Richland nine power plays on the day, while going 0 for 6 on the man advantage.
Folmer, whose goal was assisted by Will and Richard Wild, added on with 30 seconds to play in the first period and Eggert’s goal came with 2:03 to play to essentially seal the victory. Rams captain Will Studt assisted the final tally.
Pine-Richland will face Glenelg, from suburban Baltimore, Maryland, on Friday at 3:15 p.m. and Pinnacle High School (Arizona) on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Burrell, playing in Division II, also had a big day on the power play, getting man-advantage goals from Tyler Stewart and Giovanni Palombo to finish 2 for 4 on the day and help lift the Buccaneers to a 6-4 win over Boulder/Monarch (Colo.)
The Bucs started in a 2-0 hole, but Stewart scored on the power play at 15:49 of the first and then again at 16:19 of the first at even strength to knot the game at 2-2 heading into the second period.
In the second, it was more of the same, as Boulder/Monarch got goals at 3:44 and 6:44 of the period to re-establish at two-goal margin, but Stewart completed his hat trick with a shorthanded goal at 13:04 and Palombo scored shorthanded at 14:14 to tie the game at 4-4 heading into the ice cut.
The third period was all Bucs, at Palombo’s second goal of the day came on the power play at 13:35 and Cole Vazzanna scored at 15:30 for a crucial insurance marker.
Stewart (three goals, one assist) and Palombo (two goals, two assists) each finished with four points while Dylan Zelonka had three helpers. Drew Burkett stopped 30 of 34 in goal.
The Bucs will face Steinbrenner High School (Tampa, Florida) on Friday at noon and the Omaha (Neb.) Jr. Lancers on Saturday at 10:15 a.m.
Bishop McCort, the third PIHL team playing at nationals, suffered a 4-2 defeat to Santa Margarita (Calif.) Catholic.
Jackson Dobbs scored a power-play goal and Matsvei Kurylovich added a shorthanded marker, but Santa Margarita was dominant at even strength, scoring all four of its goals during five-aside hockey. Cole Bradley turned aside 33 of 37 in the losing effort for the Crushers.
Bisho McCort will face Edina (Minn.) Jr. Gold A on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and Jesuit College Prep (Dallas) on Saturday at 5:45 p.m.
The top two teams in each four-team pool will advance to the quarterfinals.
