Here is our continuing coverage of Week 7 of the 2018-19 PIHL season, brought to you by Brian Mitchell, Ed Major II, Jared Todhunter, and the rest of the Pittsburgh Hockey Digest Staff.
THURSDAY, NOV. 15
GREENSBURG, Pa. — Jared Todhunter had a drop-in game at Kirk S. Nevin Arena.
GREATER LATROBE 6, SHALER AREA 1
The Shaler Titans, 4th in the Northwest, visited the Latrobe Wildcats, 1st in the Southeast. Darren Rasimczyk, #78, got the start in net for the Titans coming into the game 1-3 with a SV% .909. His counterpart, #35, Greg Handwork has helped his team get into the 1st place position with a record of 3-1 and a SV% .910. The Wildcats started the scoring at 11:09 into the 1st period when, #8, Alexander Walker found the back of the net. After facing 8 shots on net, goaltender, Rasimczyk left the game due to an injury which accord during a scrum for the puck in the blue paint. Moments later, #21, Cole Novak made it 2-0 for the Wildcats with 1 second left in the period. Novak and Walker would go ahead and put two more points on the board, extending Latrobe’s lead. The Titans would see a goal coming off the stick of, #21, Justin Newton, at 8:45 in the 2nd but wouldn’t see it again for the rest of the game. In the 3rd, Alexander Walker completed his hat-trick and, #15, Derrick Halula made it 6-1, netting only his 2nd goal of the season. Both teams came up blank on the powerplay as Latrobe went 0 for 3 and Shaler 0 for 2. Backup goalie for the Titan, #44, Ryan Bragg ended up stopping 18 of 23 shots while Wildcat’s Handwork stopped 10 of 11.
Next week Shaler will be back home to host last place Plum at Alpha Ice Complex and Latrobe will travel to the Frozen Pond to play Hampton.
Full Album: Todhunter Productions
WARRENDALE, Pa., — Brian Mitchell was at Baierl Ice Complex for a single-A matchup between two teams sitting at 5-1 in the North.
WEST ALLEGHENY 4, MEADVILLE 1
Cohl Weber opened the scoring for the Bulldogs in the first period, but goals by Shane Nolan and Brad Ryniawec in the second and Nick Sweet in the third handed West Allegheny a 4-1 victory at Baierl on Thursday.
MITCH’S PICS (FULL GALLERY)
TUESDAY, NOV. 13
HARMAR TWP., Pa. — Brian Mitchell was at Alpha Ice Complex for a twin-bill.
FREEPORT 7, FOX CHAPEL 5
In the opening matchup, Freeport and Fox Chapel exchanged the lead three times before the end of the second period, and Freeport held off the Foxes in the end.
Nico DiSanti had two goals and two assists, while Slade Ohl registered two goals and an assist in the victory. Rickey Downey had two goals for the Foxes.
MITCH’S PICS (FULL GALLERY)
SENECA VALLEY 3, CENTRAL CATHOLIC 1
Aiden Campbell stopped 31-of-32 in a very tight-checking contest. Marshall Maier opened the scoring for the Raiders, as Austin Albert and Ryan Russell added goals en-route to the victory. Michael Sewecke had the lone goal for Central Catholic on a breakaway.
MITCH’S PICS (FULL GALLERY)
MONDAY, NOV. 12
MT. LEBANON, Pa. — Ed Major had a Class-A matchup between the South Fayette Lions and the South Park Eagles. Ed also presented our Brozone Goaltender of the Month for October, South Fayette goaltender Bruce Hardman, with his PHD shirt and a 1-month hockey pad cleaning service by Brozone.
Hardman took his shutout streak, which began in the third period of his second start of the season on October 8 against Wheeling Catholic, into the second period against South Park before Sean Thurston of the Eagles tied the game 1-1 for South Park. Hardman’s streak lasted 124 minutes and 26 seconds. Just over two minutes later, Jeffrey Remark put South Park up 2-1 over the Lions.
Part of the reason that South Fayette was forced to play from behind was penalties. John Trinkala took three minor penalties during the course of the game and a game-misconduct in the third period. As if to prove that underestimating an opponent is dangerous, though, South Fayette pulled Hardman to the bench with less than 30 seconds to play and the Lions evened the score 2-2 with 6.1 seconds to go. After a scoreless overtime period, Hardman made two crucial shootout saves to secure the victory for South Fayette.
SOUTH FAYETTE 3, SOUTH PARK 2 (SO)
NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. — Jared Todhunter was at Pittsburgh Ice Arena where the top two teams in Division 2 faced off as Burrell played host to Central Valley.
BURRELL 7, CENTRAL VALLEY 1
Coming into the game each team is sitting at the table of the standings, the Burrell Bucs in 1st and the Central Valley Warriors in 2nd. Starting in goal for the Bucs was #81, Andrew Burkett, with a season SV% .924 while Warriors # 31, Roberto Wilhelm, (SV% .833) was on the opposite side of the ice. Central Valley opened the scoring when #62, Garrett Patton, got in alone 1:16 into the first. That was soon followed by #81, Dylan Zelonka, for Burrell getting 2 goals, 25 seconds apart. With 5:45 left in the first, Zelonka completed the natural hat-trick to put the Bucs up 3-1 headed into the break. The 2nd period was less eventful as the Bucs saw only one goal come from #91, Logan Schoepf, despite having 18 shots on goal. The Warriors goalie, Wilhelm, saw his night come to an end after the 2nd period was over and allowed 4 goals on 25 shots. Warriors #21, Samuel Romutis, got his chance in net at the start of the third. The Bucs continued their route as #47, Nathan Smith, #91 Logan Schoepf (2G), and #73, Cole Vazzana, put tallies up on the board. Each team had one chance on the powerplay. Both going 0 for 1. Bucs goalie, Burkett, stopped 20 of 21 shots on net. The tandem for the Warriors, Wilhelm and Romutis, came together to stop 33 of 40 shots. This game concluded with the Bucs continuing their win streak to start the season, now 7-0. The Warriors saw their own win streak come to an end after winning their previous 4 games. Burrell will stay at home to host Carrick next week while Central Valley plays their third straight away game when they visit Bishop Canevin.
Note: Burrell currently has 4 individual players in the top 5 for point in the Varsity D2. #81 Dylan Zelonka (13G/13A), #16 Tyler Stewart who did not dress (18G/5A), #13 Jonas Sopko (5G/13A) and #91 Logan Schoepf (6G/5A)
Full Album at: Todhunter Productions
GREENSBURG, Pa. — Brian Mitchell dropped in at Kirk S. Nevin Arena for a single-A matchup between Greensburg-Salem and Indiana. Regrettably, he had a function to attend and had to leave after the first period with the Golden Lions up 2-1.
GREENSBURG-SALEM 7, INDIANA 6 (OT)
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