WARRENDALE, Pa. — Avonworth entered the quarterfinal round of the PIHL Class-B Playoffs with home-ice advantage and 18 goals over its last three games, all wins, but Elizabeth Forward sophomore goaltender Billy Siemon avenged an earlier home loss to the ‘Lopes (11-6-0-1) by making 25 clutch saves in a 3-1 victory by the Warriors (11-7-0-1) at Baierl Ice Complex Monday night.
Elizabeth Forward won a hard-nosed, defensive battle and, of equal, if not greater, importance, the special teams battle, to set up a semifinal grudge match with noted rival Ringgold at RMU Island Sports Center in Neville Township next Monday.
“Normally, we have the offense, and they have the defense. We had to play very well defensively, keep up our attack and stay strong in both zones,” said Siemon, who has won four of his past five starts overall.
The Warriors ended up 2-for-4 on the man-advantage in a postseason affair that saw both teams combine for 30 penalty minutes. Meanwhile, they went a perfect 7-for-7 on the PK, which included thwarting a 50-second 5-on-3 that Avonworth enjoyed with under ten minutes to play the third period.
“It’s a team game. You’ve got to get pucks out, you’ve got to get pucks deep,” Siemon said. “It’s not all the goalie. It’s everybody out there.”
Both teams had good looks at each other’s net early in the first, but EF found it first, on the power play. Will Golgosky was nabbed for hooking, and with 10:26 remaining, senior forward Michael Vasko, who finished second in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League’s second division in goals and points in 2019-20, found room down the middle and buried a wrist shot under the bar behind freshman Benjamin Korol.
As the game grew more physical, the Antelopes relied upon one of their power forwards to tie the game. The Warriors took their eyes off Joshua Perry, who got alone in front of Siemon, took a backdoor pass from Justin Pukylo and beat a partially screened Simeon with 4:35 to play in the frame.
Golgosky, to some extent, redeemed himself with his secondary assist. He concluded his final interscholastic season with 27 total points (11 G, 16 A) in 17 total games.
It was befitting the complexion of this one, however, that defense led to offense on what proved to be the game-winning goal. Senior D-man Lucas Kearns led a pass for fellow fourth-year blue-liner Jake Provident, who drove the right wing circle and snapped the puck past Korol’s glove hand for a 2-1 lead exactly seven minutes into the second period.
The goalies traded ten-bell saves, and their teams continued to trade penalties, skating four-on-four for the final half-minute before the ice cut. EF showed brilliant puck movement on the PP for a big insurance goal just 53 seconds after play resumed.
Kearns, from near the boards, made a perfect shot-pass to Tayte Donovan, who was all alone at the far side of the net to redirect it past a helpless Korol, who otherwise recorded 18 tough saves in defeat.
Following the Warriors’ critical kill, Siemon made one last point-blank save on a two-on-none that was the result of a giveaway deep in his own zone, eliciting hugs from his teammates and rousing applause from the South Hills spectators in the Galaxy Arena.
Now he will have the opportunity to slam the door in the face of the reigning Class B champs, an opportunity he relishes.
“Honestly, it’s just really exciting. I’m ready to play Ringgold again,” said Siemon. “They’ve had our number all season, but I think we can take it to them.”
The Warriors, the third-place team in this year’s South Division, will get underway with the nearly-unbeaten Rams on the Island next Monday at 7:00 p.m. EST.
Avonworth, which entered into a co-op with Ambridge High School for the 2019-20 season, bowed to EF after a second-place finish in the North Division.
