Canon-Mac earns key victory
Canon-McMillan did what it had to do to break out of the logjam in the PIHL Class 3A standings on Tuesday when it pulled out a 4-1 home victory against Seneca Valley.
“For us, we needed to come out and play three periods of hockey because, when we come out and we run our system well, we know we’re at least going to stay in the game and, when we’re finishing, we know we’re going to get points,” Canon-McMillan coach Ryan Lamberger said. “Getting points against a team like Seneca Valley is huge for us and it’s building confidence.”
Canon-McMillan (11-5-2) has won two in a row and three of its past four to move into a tie with Peters Township (12-6-0) for third place behind North Allegheny (14-3-1) and Upper St. Clair (12-4-1). But even with the season winding down and seven of the eight postseason spots locked up, very little else has been decided.
As of Tuesday, none of the seven teams that clinched has its seeding determined.
North Allegheny is in first, but has Canon-McMillan and seventh-place PineRichland (9-5-1) still remaining on its slate. The Rams, with five games left to play, can still legitimately finish anywhere from first to eighth.
That is what made CanonMcMillan’s win against Seneca Valley (10-7-1) so important. Though it didn’t do much as far as separating the Big Macs from the pack, it was imperative for them to earn two points if they had any hope of pulling a topfour seed and earning a firstround home playoff game.
It’s vitally important for Canon-McMillan, which is only one point ahead of a resurgent Cathedral Prep (116-1) squad that has reeled off seven consecutive victories and could be a brutal firstround opponent, especially on the road. Though the Big
Macs were the last team to beat the Ramblers in a PIHL-sanctioned game and they are 2-0-0 against them this season, traveling to Mercyhurst for a playoff game is never an easy chore.
“I’d much rather be playing at Printscape [Arena], but we just want to be playing good hockey,” Lamberger said. “If we play good hockey, we know we’re going to get a good seed and maybe that’s the better way for me to say what our thinking is.”
And Canon-McMillan will have a lot to say about the final standings. The Big Macs final two games are with North Allegheny and Upper St. Clair, which would be a perfect postseason tune-up for any squad.
“It’s rare when you get to play the two top teams at the end of the year,” Lamberger said. “It’s going to be a great test.”
Class 2A
And then there were none.
On Monday, West Allegheny (13-4-0), which is in a brutal fight with Montour (12-4-0) for the second and final postseason spot out of the Class 2A Southwest Division, defeated Baldwin, 4-3, at Ice Castle in Castle Shannon.
Not only did the victory open up a cushion for the Indians, it also marked the first loss of the season for the Highlanders, which had opened the season on a 15game winning streak.
Baldwin (15-1-0) has already locked up the division title, but the loss was significant in that it means there won’t be an undefeated team in any of the top three classifications. It also means the Highlanders have a chink in their armor, which bodes well for Montour as it will look to extend its current winning streak to seven — and keep pace with West Allegheny — on Monday when it hosts the Highlanders.
West Allegheny and Montour split their two games this season.