Week of Nov. 5
Horn to Ice Miners
Tom Horn of Mt. Lebanon has been acquired by the Keystone Ice Miners from the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2015 North American Hockey League.
The 6-foot, 175-pound forward comes out of the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite Program. He netted nine goals and 12 assists in 35 games during the 2013-14 season. He was selected in the sixth round of the 2014 NAHL entry draft by Rio Grande Valley.
The acquisition brings Horn closer to home as the Ice Miners play out of Connellsville. Their home rink is The Ice Mine, located at 5001 W. Crawford Ave.
“[Tommy] is a local kid, so he’s going to want to play in every game so that friends and family can come watch him play,” said Michael Gershon, general manager of the Ice Miners. “We just felt like it was the right move at the right time.”
According to Gershon, Horn brings a physical element that has been lacking in the line-up in the early stages of the season.
“[Horn’s] going to compete,” Gershon said. “He’s going to come in and he’s going to work extremely hard. He’s going to be physical. We felt like we needed a little bit more jam. We like his game.”
The Ice Miners host the Janesville Jets Nov. 7-8 and Soo Eagles Nov. 15-16 at The Ice Mine. Visit keystoneiceminershockey.com or call 724-970-6228 to order tickets.
Kuqali plays at RIT
Alexander Kuqali is a member of Rochester Institute of Technology’s men’s hockey team. The 6-2, 225-pound junior defender captains the club this season.
Last year, he played in 36 games, recording 10 points on two goals and eight assists, 48 blocked shots and owning a plus-11 over the team’s first 22 games. As a newcomer in the 20-12-13 season, he earned Atlantic Hockey Association rookie honors for the week and month and finished with 11 points, three goals and eight assists.
Kuqali played previously for the Sioux City Musketeers and Indiana Ice in the United States Hockey League. Born in Dallas, Kuquali attended Mt. Lebanon High School, where he led the Blue Devils to four straight WPIAL titles in lacrosse. The 23-year-old son of John Kuqali and Marcia Karuba is an accounting major at RIT, which competes at the Division I level in hockey and ranks among the nation’s leading comprehensive universities.
Woodring wins
Lauren Woodring, 26, of Bethel Park captured first place in the women’s division during the Columbus Marathon. Her time of 2:41.24 qualifies her for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials to be held in Los Angeles. Woodring ran a 6:06 pace per mile. She finished 25th out of all 5,460 competitors, both male and female.
Boxheimer 29th
After placing 69th in her debut ACC cross country championship meet, Hillary Boxheimer of Bethel Park finished 40 spots higher this time. The junior placed 29th overall with a personal best time of 21:04.3 in a 6K race. Boxheimer missed being an All-Conference recipient by eight places, or less than 12 seconds. The top 21 runners in the field are named to the All-Conference teams. Pitt finished 14th in the women’s team standings for the championships held at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va.
Carr wins
South Fayette graduate Nick Carr won the 157-pound bracket during the Messiah Invitational. The Washington and Jefferson College junior grappler is ranked No. 1 in the nation in his weight class. He opened tournament action with a third-round fall against Alex Ramos of Liberty. He then earned a 17-3 major decision against Messiah’s Jason Ayers in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Carr topped McDaniel’s Luke Yox in a major decision, 10-2, before posting a 6-4 decision over Messiah’s Larry Cannon in the finals. The Presidents finished fifth as a team in the tournament.