Peters Township blanks NA; moves into PIHL finals
Peters Township (18-3-1) blanked North Allegheny (13-6-3) and advanced to the PIHL final to defend its Penguins Cup.
The top-seeded Indians will face off against Upper St. Clair (12-8-1) at 6:15 p.m. March 20 at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry. The will be attempting to become the first Class 3A team to repeat as champions since Bethel Park won three consecutive titles from 2000-2002.
The Indians, who have won titles in 2014, 2017 and 2022, made quick work of the Tigers, whom they had beaten twice previously during the regular season, 4-1 in November and 4-3 in January.
In the semifinals played March 13 at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center, Peters Township dominated the action and scored the only goal it needed for victory at 10:05 in the first frame.
After blocking an NA shot, Austin Malley skated the length of the ice and took a slap shot from the right side for the first goal of the game.
The Tigers struggled to escape its defensive zone as the Indians outshot them, 24-6 in the first period. The Indians continued that domination into the second period. They held a 40-13 advantage in shots by the end of those two frames, but converted more of their 16 second-period opportunities, producing three goals in the time frame.
Luca Marietta made it 2-0 less than two minutes into the second stanza. Drew Alexander assisted.
With 3:06 left in the second period, Anthony Labellarte scored off a rebound of a shot by Cole Neupaver. Just as quickly, some 38 seconds later, Troy Jones registered the fourth and final tally. Camden Martin earned an assist on the goal.
Kyle Thomas registered the shutout in the nets. He turned back 20 shots. The Indians finished with 48 SOG.
PT’s opponent in the finals is neighboring sports rival, USC. Seeded seventh in the tournament, the Panthers upset No. 2 Central Catholic, 6-2, in the playoff opener then upended No. 6 Pine-Richland, 6-3, in the other semifinal contest, also played March 13 at the RMU arena.
The Panthers (12-8-1) used four, third-period goals to come from behind to topple the Rams (11-9-1).
With USC trailing, 3-2, after two frames, Colin Ruffner scored his third goal of the game at 4:33 to tie the game in the third period. Zach Hardy, who assisted the tally, provided the game-winning goal four minutes later. Ruffner and Aaron Stawiarski assisted.
Ruffner, who finished with four scores, and Stawiarski tacked on insurance tallies at 9:31 and 14:31. Hardy assisted on both goals.
The Panthers fell behind, 1-0, and 2-1, at the starts of the first and second stanzas but Ruffner provided the equalizers. Hardy assisted the first-frame goal that occurred 12 minutes and 19 seconds into the contest. George Garces assisted the second tally, which came at 6:04 of the second stanza.
Louis Liberatore turned away 22 of the 25 shots he faced in the nets for the Panthers.
While Peters Township is a familiar PIHL finalist and the defending state champion, USC is looking for its first titles since 2011. The Panthers were Penguins Cup winners that winter, and they also went on to win the state championship that season. The Indians have won three state crowns since 2014.
Class AASouth Fayette (15-3-1) will be looking for its first Penguins Cup when the Lions take on top-seeded Armstrong (17-3-0) in the PIHL Class AA championship contest set for 6:15 p.m. March 21 at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry.
The Lions reached the finals with a 4-1 victory against Greater Latrobe (11-7-0) on March 14 at the RMU Ice Center.
In the win over the Wildcats on March 14 at the RMU Ice Center, Wes Schwarzmiller and Trevor Dalessandro led the offensive attack with two goals each. After falling behind, 1-0, they scored at 9:19 and 16:43 in the second stanza to put the Lions in the lead for good.
Brady Fleck assisted on the first tally by Schwarzmiller. Robert Chiappetta and Dylan Walsh notched the assists on the second score.
South Fayette scored twice on the power play in the third period. Dalessandro, off assists from Brayden Imler and Schwarzmiller, scored at 7:15. Schwarzmiller had the empty-netter at 14:00. Tyler Brandebura assisted.
Allen Schraeder registered the win in the nets. He faced 24 shots, turning away 23 for a .958 save percentage.