South Fayette wins first state championship in ice hockey
South Fayette used three, third-period goals to snap a tied game and capture its first state hockey championship in school history.
With under three minutes to play, the Lions scored three, even-strength goals and defeated Pennsbury, 7-4, in the Class AA state championship contest played March 25 at the RMU Island Sports Center.
Wes Shwarzmiller ignited the Lions. He scored the go-ahead goal off an assist from Brady Fleck at 14:03.
The Lions tacked on back-to-back scores, within 26 seconds of each other, by Nolan Murphy and Brayden Imler. Imler earned an assist on Murphy’s tally, which came 15:26 into the third period.
The Lions needed another rally to cement its title. They overcame a 2-0 first-frame deficit to claim their championship.
Pennsbury bolted into the lead on goals from Brendan MacAinsh at 3:20 and Justin Marlin at 11:20.
The Lions responded with three tallies to end the first period with a 3-2 advantage.
Murphy and Tyler Brandebura scored on power plays to knot the contest, 2-2. The Brandeburas (Tyler and Jackson) assisted Murphy’s score at 11:49. Imler assisted Brandebura at 12:32.
Braydon Reighard scored at 14:29 to lift the Lions into the lead. Jackson Brandebura assisted.
After Shwarzmiller gave the Lions a 4-2 bulge on his even-strength goal at the 2:39 mark in the second stanza, Pennsbury answered with two goals to tie the match, 4-4. Marlin and MacAinsh scored at 7:20 an 15:59 respectively.
In goal, Allen Schraeder faced 33 shots, turning back 29 for a .879 save percentage. The Lions put 35 shots on goal against Aaron McDaniel.
The state title capped a successful season of hockey for the Lions. They finished 19-3-2 overall. They also claimed their first Penguins Club with a win against top-seeded Armstrong in the PIHL Class AA final played on March 21 at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry.
“The goal was to win a state championship,” said SF head coach Matt Schwartz. “This was a great group to work with.
“Every time we won, it gave us more time together. We love this group so much. They love playing together.”
In Class AAA, Peters Township was not as fortunate as South Fayette. The Indians dropped a 7-3 decision to LaSalle in their state final, also played March 25 at the RMU Island Sports Center.
A four-goal second period by LaSalle did in PT’s plans for repeating as state champions.
The Indians recovered from a 1-0 first-frame deficit to tie the game on an even-strength goal from Will Tomko. Ben Kovac assisted the tally, which came 12 seconds into the second period.
LaSalle, however, reeled off four unanswered goals to take the lead, 5-1, before intermission.
Goals from Will Tomko and Kovac pulled the Indians within 5-3, six minutes into the final period. Cole Neupaver and Tomko earned assists on the tallies that came at 3:39 and 5:54.
LaSalle scored twice in the final minutes, including an empty-netter at 15:42, to solidify its victory and claim the state trophy.
For the Indians, Kyle Thomas faced 31 shots on goal before yielding to Nolan Hilbert for the final nine minutes of action.
Aries Carangi gained the win in goal. The LaSalle net minder faced 24 SOG, making 21 stops for an .875 save percentage.
For the Explorers, the triumph avenged their state championship loss to the Indians in 2014. PT won the 2022 title with a 3-0 win against Malvern Prep at Ice Line in West Chester.
The Indians, who are 6-2 in state championship competition, finished the season at 19-4-1 overall. They were the Penguins Cup winners, smashing Upper St. Clair, 8-1, in the PIHL Class AAA final.