Chartiers Valley falls to Indiana in PIHL final
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Chartiers Valley’s Ryan Kantner, left, and Brandon Mangan sit dejected on the ice after losing their bid for a Penguins Cup.
Chartiers Valley hockey players Braidon Mangan (90) Greg Kraemer (3), Tommy Phillips (12), Drew Evans (41) goalies Colin Albert and Logan Marnik (1) as well as Sean Taylor (32) react as Indiana accepts the Penguins Cup trophy after a 3-2 victory in the PIHL Class A championship game.
Chartiers Valley's Ryan Kantner (75) beats Indiana's Ben Nettleton (20) to the puck during the PIHL Class A championship game.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Chartiers Valley’s Greg Kraemer (3) stickhandles the puck in front of Indiana defender Zachary Wood as he races down ice during the PIHL Class A Penguins Cup game.
Chartiers Valley scored a pair of third-period goals, but the Colts were ultimately unable to overcome a second-period natural hat trick by Tanner Angello who led Indiana to a 3-2 victory in the PIHL Class A championship game played April 19 at Robert Morris University’s Island Sports Center.
After a scoreless first period in which the top-seeded Little Indians outshot the Colts 15-3, Angello ignited the offense. The senior forward scored on a power play at 8:03. His brother, Ethan, assisted on the goal.
Three minutes later, at the 11:17 mark, Angello registered goal number two. Danny Williams assisted.
Angello completed the hat trick at the 13:38 mark when he beat Logan Marnik for an unassisted goal.
The Colts made things interesting with a two-goal explosion in the third period.
Greg Kraemer scored on a power play at 8:35. It was his fifth goal of the playoffs. Ryan Kantner assisted on the goal.
With 5:17 remaining, Jackson Fodor scored an even-strength goal. Timmy Efthimiades assisted.
Marnik faced 51 shots on goal for a .941 save percentage. He earned the praise of Indiana head coach Jordan Haines.
“In my opinion, (Marnik’s) probably one of the best goalies in the our league,” he said. “Honestly, he made saves that I thought were in.”
Seamus O’Connor faced 14 shots on goal for Indiana.
The win put the undefeated Little Indians (20-0) in the Pennsylvania Cup final, which is set to be played April 24 at the UPMC Sports Complex. Indiana has won 25 consecutive games dating back to last season when they qualified for the finals but the game was postponed because of the pandemic.
With the loss, the Colts finished 14-5-1 overall. Seeded No. 3 in the tournament, CV was looking for its first PIHL title since 1986.
CV head coach Paul Bonetti was disappointed in the outcome but not in his players’ performance.
“Our boys did the best they could,” he said.
Other players who contributed to CV’s success this season included: Ian Colberg, Connor Fromme, Dominic DeAngelis, Landon Smith, Tommy Phillips, Brayden Knight, Colin Albert, Chris DeAngelis, Evan McMinn, Sean Taylor, Owen Taylor, Cole LaCamera, Drew Evans, Jonathan Howell, Nolan Kantner, Matt Sedlak, Kaden Dvorak, Ben Teti, Romeo Isolde, Hunter Gratzmiller, Riley Mackiewicz, Luke Hinds, Braidon Mangan, Dilan Kumpf and Austin Efthimiades.