Hockey: PIHL playoffs preview
Class 3A
Leading scorers: Wyatt George, Mt. Lebanon (24g 19a 43 pts); Trevor Gilliland, Butler (22-14-36); J.C. Bele, Bethel Park (17-14-31); Donovan Cullen, Cathedral Prep (13-16-29).
Leading goaltenders (Min. 10 GP): Logan Johnson, Seneca Valley (10-5-0, 1.72 GAA); Richard Karapandi, North Allegheny (7-30, 2.10 GAA); Connor Strobel, Butler (8-4-0, 2.81 GAA); Nick Dinner, Cathedral Prep (9-5-0, 2.85 GAA).
Top seeds: Peters Township is first, Seneca Valley second, Cathedral Prep third, North Allegheny fourth.
The scoop: Any of the top four teams could win the title. Reigning champion Peters Township has been in first place all season, but the Indians have stumbled a bit down the stretch after a 9-0-0-1 start and no team has defended a title in Class 3A since Bethel Park in 2001-02. Butler has the No. 2 offense with 77 goals and heads into the playoffs riding a five-game winning streak. Plum, the No. 8 seed and reigning Class 2A champion, is intriguing as the Mustangs spent most of the season mired in last place, but went 5-3-0-0 down the stretch with wins against Seneca Valley and Cathedral Prep
Winner will be: Seneca Valley. If the adage that defense wins championships is true, then the Raiders will win their first Penguins Cup. Though Seneca Valley has had its problems scoring goals at times, Johnson has been a stalwart between the pipes and has not allowed more than four pucks get behind him in any game this season. The Raiders also split with first-place Peters Township this season, winning in a shootout and losing in overtime.
Class 2A
Leading scorers: Zachary Kutch, Armstrong (24-33-57); Jace Rearick, Armstrong (2726-53); Nicholas Benvenuti, Armstrong (17-23-40); Jared Gerger, Hempfield (24-15-39).
Leading goaltenders (Min. 10 GP): Connor Andrews, Hampton (7-2-0, 2.55 GAA); Daniel Soltesz, Franklin Regional (11-7-0, 2.78 GAA); Daniel Stauffer, PineRichland 6-4-0, 3.19 GAA); Danny Mitchell, Mars (9-9-0, 3.32 GAA).
Top seeds: Armstrong is first in the North/West, Latrobe is first in the South/ West, Pine-Richland is second in the North/West, Upper St. Clair is second in the South/West.
The scoop: The South/ East Division might be most propped for the postseason as the five qualifiers have been playing playoff games for the past two months. Only seven points separated first to last place and no team finished below .500. Franklin Regional is a twotime reigning Class 1A champion and has the postseason experience to make a run. Pine-Richland is in the playoffs for the first time in three years and coach Jim Black, who has won state titles with North Allegheny and the Rams, has the pedigree to get the most out of his players. Upper St. Clair has been surging down the stretch (4-1-0-0 in its last five) and has a 20-goal scorer in Quinn Giacobbe. Don’t count out Latrobe — a finalist last year — as senior forward Jared Schimizzi (1721-38) can change a game.
Winner will be: Armstrong. There was a deconsolidation and a second consolidation since Armstrong Central won the district’s only title in 1991 and coach Lee Grafton was a player in the program at that time. The River Hawks have the top three scorers in the classification and will be hard to stop in a one-and-done format. Armstrong is the only team to break 100 team goals in the classification and has a plus55 goal differential.
Class 1A
Leading scorers: Nick Frantz, Meadville (39-24-63); Alaiksei Kostserau, Bishop McCort (28-33-61); Austin Lapiana, Kiski Area (39-1857); Chase Villani, Fox Chapel (30-26-56).
Leading goaltenders (Min. 10 starts): Bruce Hardman, South Fayette (63-0, 1.92 GAA); Eddie Kaufman, Meadville (11-2-0, 1.96 GAA); Cole Bradley, Bishop McCort (16-0-0, 2.19 GAA); David Cavrak, Westmont Hilltop (7-2-0, 2.29 GAA).
Top seeds: Bishop McCort is first, Meadville is second, Thomas Jefferson is third, West Allegheny is fourth.
The scoop: Thomas Jefferson is seeded third because of an early-season loss to Meadville, but the Jaguars enter the postseason riding an eight-game winning streak, second only to Bishop McCort. They also have balanced scoring with Brendan Crousey (15-23-38) leading seven players who have at least 10 goals, while freshman goaltender Luke Ripepi (16-3-0, 2.63 GAA) has been outstanding between the pipes. West Allegheny has rebounded nicely after a dismal year in Class 2A and could surprise a team or two in the playoffs. Indiana was a finalist last year and still has quite a bit of talent, including goaltender Madison Barker, and lost to the Crimson Crushers by one in their only meeting. Westmont Hilltop is the only team that truly took Bishop McCort to overtime and held the team to its lowest goal output of the season in a 2-1 loss. After going winless in Class 2A last season, Fox Chapel won 11 games and Villani has more goals himself than the Foxes team (27) a year ago.
Winner will be: Bishop McCort. If you just look at the names of the team’s three leading scorers, Kostserau, Matsvei Kurylovich (32-22-54) and Alexander Kornov (13-25-38), you might think you are playing the old Soviet Red Army team. The thing is, they play like them. The Crimson Crushers average 7.0 goals per game, allow the fewest (2.15), are third in power-play percentage (25.7) and have the top penalty kill (92.9 percent) in the PIHL. They are the first team to finish the regular season undefeated (20-0-00) since Quaker Valley in 2012-13.