Bishop Canevin wins PIHL title
Behind the goaltending of Neko Borghini and the camaraderie among the players, Bishop Canevin soundly defeated Mars, 5-1, at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry and captured its eighth Penguins Cup trophy in school history.
“We had some timely goals and timely goaltending,” said Canevin coach Kevin Pawlos.
While Borghini turned away 41 shots on goal, the Crusaders snapped a 1-1 deadlock and recovered nicely from a less-than-spectacular first period to claim the PIHL’s top prize in Class AA.
“Neko has been outstanding for us all tournament,” said Pawlos. “He’s really been our rock. He’s the reason why we are here.”
While Borghini limited the Planets to one score–a power-play goal from Beau Heakins–the Crusaders regrouped in the second stanza. They exploded for three, second-period goals. The Crusaders scored back-to-back tallies 20 seconds apart to ignite a rally. Nineteen seconds into the second period, Jacob Kuzma scored the go-ahead goal. Daniel Tkac and Patrick Bane each assisted. Thirty-nine seconds into the same frame, Tkac registered a score. Jacob Ondrejko assisted.
The goals changed the complexion of the contest, in favor of the Crusaders.
“We popped one and we figured if we could get another we could get a ton of momentum,” Pawlos said. “Like anybody, we play better when we have the lead. We could sit back and relax.”
Relaxed was something the Crusaders were not to start the championship match.
“They got the best of us in the first period,” Pawlos said. “We took some bad penalties. We were shorthanded a lot but we got it together. We weathered the storm and defense came up big for us.”
Tkac and Ondrejko came up big to start the contest and combined for the Crusaders’ first tally. Ondrejko scored off the dish from Tkac. The goal at the 7:15 mark vaulted Canevin into the lead, 1-0. The margin was shortlived as Heakins notched the equalizer on a power-play goal 62 seconds later.
Before the second period ended, the Crusaders cushioned their lead with a goal from Samuel Hrabcak. Jacob Kuzma assisted at the 15:21 mark.
Tkac completed the scoring with an empty-netter with 1:34 to play in the game.
Of Mars, Pawlos said, “They are an extremely good team. They made it tough on us. They outshot us but we weathered the storm when we had to.”
Teamwork was the reason why the Crusaders survived and advanced to the state finals.
“The main thing is we are playing as a team,” Pawlos said. “We have a lot of chemistry going into this stage now and I think it has paid off.
“Yes, we got the skill goals but it’s because of the passing going up the ice and guys creating opportunities that we can wear teams down. We know, if we stick to our game, it was going to pay off.”
And it did. With the win, Canevin improved to 18-6-1 overall. The Crusaders will face the Flyers Cup champion, Central Bucks South (21-0) for the Pennsylvania Cup at 2:30 p.m. March 19 at Penn State’s Pegula Ice Arena.
With the loss, Mars finished the season at 17-6-2 overall. The Planets were making their eighth appearance in a championship contest in nine years. They won the Class A title last season.