Stawiarski, Ruffner lead the Upper St. Clair turnaround
Upper St. Clair hockey players Aaron Stawiarski and Colin Ruffner have improved exponentially since last season.
“First and foremost, I would say that they have evolved from not only being two of the most talented players in the classification to two of the better leaders in the classification,” Upper St. Clair coach Dave Stock said. “I attribute our record and their success to how they’ve grown as people.”
It’s hard to argue with the results.
Stawiarski and Ruffner, both senior forwards, are tied for the PIHL Class 3A scoring lead with 41 points. Ruffner is tied with Cathedral Prep’s Brayden Sprickman atop the classification with 23 goals, while Stawiarski is knotted with Panthers defenseman Zachary Hardy for the top spot in assists with 22.
Last season, Stawiarski led the team but with only nine goals and 23 points with Ruffner second at 13 goals and 18 points.
“Aaron has a shot that nobody else has at the varsity level that is an individual attribute that is unmatched,” Stock said. “I realize it’s a little backwards now that Aaron has more assists than Colin does, but Colin is just an elite playmaker. The way he can change speeds is what sets him apart.”
It’s also what makes them both dangerous as a special teams threat. Ruffner leads the entire PIHL in shorthanded goals with six and also leads with nine shorthanded points. Stawiarski is third behind Ruffner and Kiski Area’s Ethan George with four shorthanded goals and second to Ruffner with eight shorthanded points.
What’s even stranger is the two have combined for 10 shorthanded goals and 17 shorthanded points but only five power-play goals and 13 power-play points.
“I say all the time that’s not sustainable and at some point in time, we have to score more 5-on-5 goals,” Stock said. “But it’s a wonderful weapon to have.”
With the two top scorers in the classification in the stable, Upper St. Clair (9-7-1) has already clinched a Penguins Cup playoff berth after missing out on the postseason a year ago. Last season, the Panthers were 7-12-1 and finished three points out of the final spot.
Now, with three of the top seven scorers in the classification — Hardy is seventh with eight goals and 30 points — and a postseason berth secured, the Panthers can turn their attention to playoff positioning and finetuning their game as they head into their final three regular season games.
Because of seeding tiebreakers, Upper St. Clair can only finish anywhere from fifth to seventh. The Panthers’ last three games are all against teams below them in the standings. In any case, they are looking at either Seneca Valley, Central Catholic or North Allegheny as a first-round opponent. The Panthers are a combined 1-41 against those three with the lone win coming against Central Catholic on Dec. 5.
“There’s no preference right now. We need to look internally, and we can go as far as we want to take us,” Stock said. “We want to finish as high as possible, let the chips fall where they may and if I prepare my guys the right way and if they show up and play the right way, it doesn’t matter who we play.”
Silent but deadly
Latrobe has been a traditional powerhouse and always seems to be in the thick of things once the postseason starts.
This year, however, the Wildcats have been up and down. Yet, through it all, they are solidly nestled in fourth place in Class 2A, could conceivably vault Bishop McCort (12-6-0) into third and either way will host a first-round playoff game.
Like they have so many times in the past, the Wildcats are balanced in their attack. Latrobe (11-6-1) is currently third in the classification behind Armstrong and South Fayette in goals allowed with 44. It has also played two fewer games than South Fayette. In addition, Latrobe is second only to Armstrong in goals scored, 102-91, despite having only senior Peyton Myers (12-24-36) among the top 10 in Class 2A scoring.
Playoff watch
West Allegheny (11-5-2) has won its last five games and has moved into fifth place in the Class 1A Gold Division. As the top six teams make the playoffs, it would appear the Indians have the inside track on the postseason.
But they haven’t clinched. West Allegheny’s final two games are against firstplace North Hills and second-place McDowell. Losses in both could open the door for North Catholic (11-5-1) to leapfrog them and even for seventh-place Avonworth (10-7-1) to slip in. This week, both North Catholic and Avonworth play teams eliminated from playoff contention, as North Catholic takes on Moon on Tuesday and Avonworth gets Chartiers Valley on Monday. The two teams will face each other Feb. 20, with the winner likely clinching a postseason spot.