Welcome to another edition of “PIHL News and Notes,” your source for all the scholastic hockey happenings you don’t hear about on “The PIHL Power Play.” There’s still plenty of snow on the ground, but high school sports teams all over western PA have gotten up off the mat since the blizzard subsided, and the 2009-10 PIHL stretch run has resumed with plenty of lingering storylines. We’ll tell you which teams still have a shot at home-ice advantage in Class AAA, while also explaining what Latrobe needs to do to echo Pine-Richland’s (more on them later) dynastic run of two years ago.

Plus, we’ll tell you about one of the best playmakers in Class A, a young man who has been dominant on a struggling team, and why the name Jay Leppo should strike fear into your heart if you’re one of his upcoming opponents. So as we brace ourselves for what will hopefully not be another winter storm, join us once again as we tell you what else is happening in each classification…

SPECIAL REPORT: No Injuries in Roof Collapse at Rostraver Ice Garden

Emergency management officials rushed to the Rostraver Ice Garden in Belle Vernon Sunday afternoon when part of the roof gave way in the middle of a peewee hockey tournament and a private party in the adjacent banquet room. Witnesses say a zamboni driver was the only person on the ice when he heard a loud cracking noise and yelled for everybody to get out. Mercifully, all of the nearly one hundred patrons in the building were able to escape without injury, as one-third of the roof, a 100-foot by 200-foot section, slowly collapsed. Officials believe ice and snow accumulation from the recent winter storms were the chief reason for the accident. Thomas Jefferson, Serra Catholic, and Ringgold are among the teams that use the facility for home games. At this time the PIHL has officially cancelled all remaining games scheduled to take place there. Keep reading “PIHL News and Notes” next week for continuing coverage of this story.

PIHL CLASS AAA:

Playoff Midsection Remains Tight

As long as we’re covering the battle for the top seeds and the various battles among teams trying to shoehorn their way into the Penguins Cup Playoffs, we might as well take a look at the middle of the bracket too, particularly in Class AAA. Four teams are tied for the number five seed at 24 points apiece, and each of those teams has either four or five games remaining. Why is that relevant? Because all four sit just one point behind Canon-McMillan (12-4-1, #3 MSA) for the fourth seed and final first-round bye. Seneca Valley (12-5-0, #8 MSA) appears on its way to a Section 2 crown, but if last March’s tough-luck loser wishes to return to the Igloo for a shot at revenge, getting the bye would be an ideal first step. The Raiders have games remaining against Pine-Richland, Mount Lebanon, North Hills, and Norwin, with a make-up meeting with Wheeling Park also on the horizon. Meanwhile, Norwin (11-4-2, #4 MSA) and Plum (11-4-2, #5 MSA) have identical point percentages (.706). The Knights’ remaining schedule reads as follows: North Hills, Canon-Mac, Shaler, Seneca, and North Allegheny. The Mustangs really have their work cut out with games left against Pittsburgh Central Catholic—another bubble team, like NA—Upper St. Clair, Bethel Park, State College, and a make-up date with McDowell. Speaking of Bethel Park, the Black Hawks (11-5-2, #6 MSA), have a stretch run that includes games against arch rival Mount Lebanon, Canon-Mac, Pine-Richland, and yes, Plum. The saving grace is that three of those are home contests, and the Hawks are 5-2-1 at BladeRunners Bethel Park this year. Bethel’s remaining opponents, in fact, have combined for 36 wins entering this week, though Plum has it noticeably tougher, as their remaining foes have 48 combined victories.

Pine-Richland Still Dangerous

After winning three straight Penguins Cups from 2006-08 and losing just one regular season contest last season, many probably felt losing to Mount Lebanon in the 2009 Penguins Cup Quarterfinals was a mere bump in the road for Pine-Richland (6-9-2). As it turns out, graduation losses became a bit too much even for this program, and the current campaign has been anything but easy for the Rams. The team started strong with a hat trick of victories, but that has been the high water mark thus far, followed immediately by a matching losing streak and seeing back-to-back losses on two other occasions. Still, PR enters Thursday’s contest at Section 2 frontrunner Seneca Valley as the 11th seed if the playoffs started today. If they can just maintain a spot, head coach Matthew Richert’s bunch should not be taken lightly. No team with a player among the top 10 scorers should be, and the Rams have two in senior forward Bryan Watt (18 G, 24 A), who is just one point off the Class AAA lead, and junior defenseman Ryan Hanahan (17 G, 15 A). Junior attacker Nolan Trombetta (14 G, 17 A) could still climb the leader board himself, and has been on fire lately with seven goals, three on the power play, and three helpers in his last four games. Defensively is where this team has been rebuilding – Watt admitted as much on “The PIHL Power Play” earlier this year – as evidenced by senior backstop Dan Symanski’s numbers. After all, a 6-7-2 record, 3.61 GAA and .890 save percentage are hardly what anybody expected to see next to his name this season, but he played some inspired hockey at the All-Star game, and with his playoff experience, a shot is all he and this team need.

GAME OF THE WEEK:
Gateway Gators (5-11-2) @ State College Little Lions (12-3-2, #7 MSA)
Thursday, February 18, 7:10 PM @ Penn State University

We say: This is an important game for the Section 4 rivals, but both have different reasons. For State College, clinching a first-round bye when no more than two points separate seven teams trying to claim three of them (Shaler pretty much has the fourth locked up) means every win matters. Same thing applies to Gateway, but for them it’s about trying to claim a spot. The Gators have dropped two straight and visit the Titans on Wednesday, but are just one point off the pace. The Little Lions took the previous meeting, a 4-0 decision in the season opener on October 19 in which junior forward Abraham Edson scored once on the power play and once shorthanded while senior goalie Patrick Weiler made 21 saves. Senior forward Andrew Plate (18 G, 16 A) will need a big night for Gateway to swing the upset.

PIHL CLASS AA:

Can Latrobe Complete the Hat Trick?

After a perfect 2008-09 season, back-to-back Penguins and Pennsylvania Cup championships and one of the deepest programs the PIHL has to offer right now, can anyone doubt Latrobe’s (13-3-1, #4 MSA) chances of a three-peat? This year’s edition of the Wildcats again boasts the top offense in Class AA, but 119 goals versus the 185 put up a year ago is enough of a drop-off to show the graduation losses if nothing else; so are the nine players currently over 10 points versus the 17 double-digit scorers last season. Still, it’s a safe bet the 26 combined goals and 83 points of Noah and Matthew Batis are keeping plenty of opposing goaltenders awake at night. Head coach Dan Ridder can certainly be just as proud of this year’s defense (41 GA) versus last year’s (35 GA). We have discussed the impressive goaltending of move-ups Shane Brudnok and J.T. Douglas in this space before, and Nick Loyacona would certainly be proud of the third-ranked defense in the class. Consider the teams Latrobe has not beaten, though – they lost to and tied Peters Township before tasting defeat at the hands of Meadville and West Allegheny. The Wildcats also needed overtime to knock off Bishop Canevin. Are we implying a weakness in this bunch? Not at all, but we are suggesting Class AA is more wide open than it may have first appeared in October, particularly at the top of the playoff bracket, and that should make March a very interesting month. Latrobe has won two straight since losing to the Bulldogs and will return to action on Thursday when Elizabeth Forward pays a non-section visit to the Kirk Nevin Arena.

Daley, DiFilippo Bedrocks of Cup Quest

If goaltending is to be the foundation of any successful hockey team, it’s been fairly obvious since the beginning of the season Bishop Canevin (13-2-3, #3 MSA) has had the inside track on this year’s Penguins Cup crown in Class AA. Starter Julian DiFilippo looked like he was destined for a memorable campaign when he won his first three, including triumphs over Section 3 rivals West Allegheny and Chartiers Valley, and allowed only seven goals in the process. But then a 1-2-2 stretch overshadowed that early success; DiFilippo surrendered 13 goals in that stretch, including a loss to Latrobe Nov. 5 in which he was nicked for five. However, he has embarked on a personal four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1) since the holiday break, during which he has allowed just five pucks behind him and posted his second and third shutouts on consecutive nights. DiFilippo stopped 11 in a 9-0 blasting of Greensburg C.C. Jan. 28, followed by 16 big saves in a hard-fought 2-0 decision over Baldwin in Section 3 play Feb. 4. With a 7-2-3 record heading into next Monday’s contest against Meadville at the “House of Chills,” his 2.09 GAA leads all Class AA starters, and although his .885 save percentage might need some work, it is still sixth among starters. In the meantime, the hard work and steadfast execution of move-up goalie Zack Daley should not go unnoticed. Daley enters this week a perfect 6-0 and has not allowed more than two goals in any of his eight appearances. He has given up a mere eight goals all season, and most of those came during a 4-0 stretch in November. Most recently Daley is coming off a 5-2 win over Moon Jan. 21, and he earned his first varsity shutout with 12 saves in a 4-0 win over Wheeling C.C. Dec. 21.

GAME OF THE WEEK:
Montour Spartans (6-8-1) @ Peters Township Indians (12-2-3, #2 MSA)
Friday, February 19, 9:00 PM @ Airport Ice Arena in Moon Township

We say: The Section 1 champs will try to win their fifth in a row and tie Canevin for the number one seed in Class AA, while the Spartans will try to avoid losing its grip on the last playoff spot with precious little time remaining in the regular season. With such big gaps between games because of the weather, Mother Nature will have left these teams either very well rested or very rusty. Either way, the Indians’ Matt White is chasing a scoring title (24 G, 22 A) and a fifth straight multi-point game; he has five goals and 12 points during the win streak. He and his teammates possess the second-best offense in the class (94 GF), so Zach Milnarcik of Montour (9 G, 14 A), who is already on an eight-game point streak, needs some help.

PIHL CLASS A:

Leppo Leads Serra Surge

Recently we made an oh-by-the-way mention of Serra Catholic junior forward Jay Leppo and his goal productivity, so let’s more closely examine the remarkable streak he is carrying into Thursday’s meeting with hated rival Bishop McCort at the War Memorial. Leppo’s 20 goals are third on the team and tied for fourth most in Class A, and his ongoing eight-game goal streak, which began in explosive fashion, has coincided with the Eagles’ eight-game winning streak and is probably his biggest contribution yet as a member of the varsity squad. He torched Beaver four times in an 11-3 rout of the Bobcats Dec. 14 and hasn’t looked back. Those four tallies represented Leppo’s first hat trick of the season, and it didn’t take too long to record his second; that came exactly one week later in a 13-1 blasting of Deer Lakes, a three-goal, five point effort. He didn’t put up such big numbers in his next game, but still, it was a landmark performance, as he scored the game-winning power play tally and added an empty netter in a 5-3 win over Mars Jan. 4, the Planets’ first regular season loss. Leppo fired in two behind Jimmy Compliment, both at even strength, in another crucial home-ice victory, a 6-4 defeat of Sewickley Academy (8-8-0, #7 MSA) at the Rostraver Ice Garden in Belle Vernon Feb. 4 that gives top-ranked Serra (13-4-0) the inside track on the Section 3 title with five games left, including Thursday’s. Leppo was held to one assist in the last meeting with McCort, a 4-3 overtime loss in Johnstown Feb. 23, 2009.

Senior Duo Has Freeport Buzzing

With three games left on its schedule – four if the February 8 weather cancellation at Bishop McCort is rescheduled – Freeport (6-11-1) currently has a five-point cushion as the 11th seed in the postseason bracket. Much of that can be attributed to the scoring prowess of senior forwards Shane Gallagher (8 G, 21 A) and Neil Decroo (19 G, 3 A), both of whom appear to be playing their best hockey when it counts the most. It was a rough start for head coach Dave Hepler’s crew, going 1-8-0 out of the gate, but a two-game winning streak right before Christmas began a 5-3-1 stretch. Over the latter collection of games, consider Gallagher has scored six of his goals, including both power play tallies, and 13 of his assists. He also dished out six helpers in his last four contests, including three in an 8-3 loss to Mars on February 4. Meanwhile, Decroo notched 13 of his goals, including three of his team-high five with the man advantage, during the same span. He also lit the lamp eight times in his last three appearances, including back-to-back hat tricks against the Planets and Deer Lakes before that on February 1. The most productive stretch of Decroo’s season has easily been the recent trio of games. For Gallagher, it was the two victories before the holiday break as he victimized the Lancers and Westmont Hilltop for a combined three goals and seven assists on December 17 and 22. Both also compare favorably among their peers in Class A, with Gallagher ranked sixth in assists and Decroo tied for fifth in goals. The Yellowjackets will need some more offense when they host non-section opponent Somerset on Thursday, a team they tied 1-1 on January 14.

GAME OF THE WEEK:
Bishop McCort Crimson Crushers (11-3-1, #4 MSA) @ Hampton Talbots (9-6-1, #6 MSA)
Monday, February 15, 7:10 PM @ Ice Connection of Pittsburgh

We say: Bishop McCort has won four straight, but with more games left on its schedule than most, holing on to a first-round bye in the Penguins Cup Playoffs means this team cannot afford to take a night off. One player who definitely has not in the second half is senior Dane Domonkos, who has all 21 of his points (14 G, 7 A) since the calendar turned to 2010. He also picked up two goals, including one on the power play, when the Crimson Crushers took down the Talbots 4-3 in overtime on January 28. Senior forward Alex Mueller (31 G, 16 A) scored twice himself that night and will look to continue his current five-game goal streak – he has 12 during that span – as Hampton chases Knoch for the Section 1 crown.

PIHL OPEN CLASS:

Scoring Depth Makes Ringgold a Favorite

Much has been made, and rightfully so, of the productive seasons Bobby Sokol (47 G, 29 A) and Kevin Claybaugh (31 G, 36 A) have enjoyed at Ringgold (16-1-1, #1 MSA) since transferring from Greensburg Central Catholic. The junior duo are the top two scorers in the Open Class, and that does not figure to change, but what makes this team a top contender to win both the Nailers and Open Cup is the scoring depth the Rams have shown. It starts with junior Nick Scabilloni, ranked third on the team in goals (20), assists (26) and points (46). The Rams won every time he registers multiple points, something he has done eight times in a row during his current 13-game point streak. Head coach Alan Scabilloni’s son has produced five points on four different occasions, but it’s a safe bet three goals, one with the man advantage, and two helpers in a win at Keystone Oaks on October 29 stands out. The seniors are not to be outdone, though, as Tanner Kefover (14 G, 22 A), Matt Frantz (14 G, 12 A) and Matt Thurner (7 G, 13 A), who is second on the team with five power play tallies, have also made their presence known. Kefover is in the middle of a nine-game scoring streak himself, including six straight with multiple assists from January 4 through February 1. With three other players breaking the 10-point barrier, including sophomore playmaker William Sutyak (6 G, 19 A), the Rams are stacked any way you slice it. Ringgold will try to make it 10 wins in a row on Wednesday night with a non-section visit to Keystone Oaks.

Mounties Turn Tables, Keep Title Hopes Alive

The one thing that kept Ligonier Valley from on-ice glory last season was just one hump it could not get over, and that hump was the Ford City Sabers. Three losses to Ford City marred an otherwise outstanding season, including a tough setback in the Chiefs Cup Final, but the story has been decidedly different in ’09-’10. Last Thursday at the Belmont Complex in Kittanning the Mounties (11-6-0, #6 MSA) edged the Sabers (11-7-0, #4 MSA) 3-2 for their second victory over the purple-and-gold in three tries this year. The win keeps Ligonier Valley’s hopes for a Section 4 title barely alive, and after avenging a 6-1 setback in the last meeting Nov. 16, the Mounties have a chance to win the season series for the first time since rejoining the league for the 2007-08 campaign when the fourth and final showdown occurs Wednesday night at Center Ice in Delmont. What makes this turnaround so intriguing is that the Mounties are a talented team, but on paper, they don’t appear to be a very deep team. Forward Dace Ludwig and defenseman Alex Knupp have combined for a whopping 50 of the team’s 73 goals entering this week, so it’s hard to imagine the Mounties tasting Open Cup gold without those two healthy—especially when you consider the next closest goal-scorer is Taylor Grimm with five. Section 4 leader Kiski Area split the season series with Ligonier Valley, so the Mounties need a Cavaliers loss to Connellsville in their season finale, coupled with wins over Ford City and Altoona, to have a shot at the crown.

GAME OF THE WEEK:
Carrick Cougars (9-8-0) @ Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles (13-4-0, #3 MSA)
Friday, February 19, 9:00 PM @ Ice Castle in Castle Shannon

We say: KO has already wrapped up Sec. 2, its first title since rejoining the league last year, and now they will set their Golden Eagle eyes on the number two seed in the Nailers Cup Playoffs and a first-round bye; they already lead John Marshall by two points. Freshman extraordinaire Ryan Rosato was held to one assist in the last meeting, a 4-3 OT win Dec. 21, but has rattled off six multi-point games since. The Cougars really need to watch out for fellow freshman Anthony Tonkovich, who is on an incredible 13-game point streak and five-game goal streak (PPG, A last mtg.). Carrick can do no better than fourth, but it at least will want to wrap up home ice in the Quarterfinals. As usual Jon Larkin is carrying the Cougars with four goals (1 PPG, 2 SHG) and eight points in his last four outings and had a goal in December’s losing effort, as did sophomore Nico Aggazio, who has an eight-game point streak.

Don’t miss the next episode of “The PIHL Power Play” this Wednesday on the MSA Sports Network! Mike Azadian will join Adam Hoerner at a special start time of 9:00 PM, but we still have a full show in store. Hopefully Chartiers Valley head coach Lou Biancaniello, Keystone Oaks bench boss John McCarthy and Altoona senior forward Derek Mathews can stay up late with us. Josh “The Intern” Rowntree will also be along with plenty of coffee before helping us break down the updated playoff picture and the big games coming up as the stretch run continues. It’s all happening on Wednesday night from 9:00 to 10:00 on your exclusive home for the 2010 Penguins Cup Playoffs, the MSA Sports Network!