Class 3A
Top seeds: Central Catholic is first, North Allegheny second, Canon-McMillan third, Cathedral Prep fourth.
Leading scorers: Vincent Lavorgna, Canon-McMillan (22 goals, 17 assists, 39 points); Dawson Richard, North Allegheny (15-24-39); Ryan Kingerski, Central Catholic (18-19-37); Jack Clendaniel, Canon-McMillan (21-15-36); Erik Chidester, North Allegheny (17-19-36); Jason Bauer, Bethel Park (18-17-35).
Leading goaltenders: Nathaniel Cava, Central Catholic (15-3-0, 2.86 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage); Ryan Heil, North Allegheny (10-3-3, 1.97, .919); Wesley Kaylor, Peters Township (8-3-1, 2.53, .899); Dylan Sloat, Seneca Valley (6-6-2, 2.37, .906); Nicholas Guimond, Bethel Park (8-7-4, 3.38, .846).
The scoop: Not one team in Class 3A is unbeaten — or unbeatable — so there are plenty of opportunities for upsets. Central Catholic has lost to North Allegheny, Butler, Cathedral Prep and Canon-McMillan and all four have a shot to make it to the finals. North Allegheny was the No. 1 seed for the past two years and lost in overtime in the finals to Cathedral Prep a year ago. The Ramblers may have the best chance of pulling the upset as they won Class 2A in 2015 before moving up to Class 3A and winning last year. Canon-McMillan reeled off six consecutive wins late and might be getting hot at just the right time. The Big Macs have ample scoring punch, but goaltending is a bit of a question mark as Nico Pidro (8-7-1, 3.56, .888) has not started a postseason game.
The winner will be: Central Catholic (16-4-0). It has been 20 seasons since the Vikings won the Penguins Cup, but this team is loaded up front with Kingerski, Jake Tepe (16-16-32) and Ryan Haag, while senior goaltender Nathaniel Cava has been dominant at times and is peaking at the right time. His 56-save performance in their 2-1 win against Cathedral Prep in their regular-season finale should attest to that.
Class 2A
Top seeds: Plum is first from the East Division, Moon is first from the West Division, Hampton is second in the East, Mt. Lebanon second in the West.
Leading scorers: Nolan Puhala, Plum (39 goals, 23 assists, 62 points); Dillon Joyce, Plum, (18-31-49); Jared Schimizzi, Latrobe (22-20-42); Jared Gerger, Hempfield (27-12-39); Daniel White, Hampton (15-24-39); Christian Gorsak, Hempfield (15-24-39); Anthony Borriello, Plum (13-24, 37); Wyatt George, Mt. Lebanon (26-8-34); Joey Sell, Moon (8-26-34).
Leading goaltenders: Julian Wolstencroft, Moon (13-1-0, 2.08 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage); Sergio Benitez, Plum (12-1-1, 1.86, .921); Maxim Clouser, Mt. Lebanon (10-3-1, 2.55, .901); Nolan Ferree, Hempfield (9-5-1, 3.17, .884); Tyler Spreng, Mars (7-10-1, 3.40, .877).
The scoop: Moon had the identical record of Plum and the Tigers played in the tougher division, but they lost head-to-head to a depleted Mustangs squad, which speaks volumes for both. Moon, however, is not to be trifled with and could easily win it all for the first time. Sell is a solid forward/defenseman who works the point effectively on the power play and Wolstencroft can steal a game if needed. Hampton is a puzzler as the team has the offense to make a run and a pretty good defense, in front of goaltender Kameron Bott, but the team lost a 9-8 overtime game to Penn-Trafford down the stretch and has to be considered a question mark. Quaker Valley also has had its good and bad runs, but could get hot and has the coaching with Kevin Quinn to get it done. Mars may be the most dangerous No. 5 seed as the Planets were a finalist last year and have an all-star goaltender in Spreng who can steal a couple of games in the tournament.
The winner will be: Plum. Like most teams this season, the Mustangs (15-2-1) had a little bit of a letdown, but they have rebounded with a vengeance and closed out the regular season with an 8-0-1 tear. The only blemish in that run was a 2-2 tie with Mt. Lebanon that came just three days after an emotionally draining 3-2 victory against Moon. Plum, which has not won the Penguins Cup since taking Class 1A in 1989, has its share of scorers with Puhala and Joyce, but also has an all-star captain in Anthony Borriello and outstanding goaltending with Benitez and beat a complete Moon team without Puhala and Joyce.
Class 1A
Top seeds: Franklin Regional is first in the East Division, Baldwin is first in the West Division, Indiana is second in the East, Thomas Jefferson is second in the West.
Leading scorers: Pat O’Neal, Indiana (35 goals, 38 assists, 73 points); Jamie Mauro, Franklin Regional (34-26-60); Oldrich Virag, Franklin Regional (20-35-55); Daniel Harrold, Thomas Jefferson (28-20-48); Austin Lapiana, Kiski Area (30-15-45); Nick Carretta, Franklin Regional (17-28-45); Camron Smith, Montour (34-10, 44); Paul Knerr, Baldwin (29-12-41); Ethan Boyer, Indiana (19-21-40).
Leading goaltenders: Daniel Soltesz, Franklin Regional (17-1-0, 0.93 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage); Mitchel Chontos, Thomas Jefferson (12-5-0, 3.63, .882); Alexander Ferraro, Kiski Area (11-6-1, 2.82, .902); Brandon Edwards, Chartiers Valley (11-5-2, 3.24, .893); David Cavrak, Westmont Hilltop (10-6-2, 2.94, .871).
The scoop: Before last Wednesday, everybody in this classification was playing for second place. Bishop McCort changed all that when it snapped the Panthers’ run in the regular-season finale and, consequently, extended its own winning streak to nine. Five teams in the West Division — Baldwin, Thomas Jefferson, Chartiers Valley, South Fayette and Montour — each finished within five points of first place, but only South Fayette might have the defense from the West Division to contain Franklin Regional. About the only West Division advantage is that there weren’t any crossover games, so they haven’t seen Franklin Regional, Indiana or Bishop McCort in an actual matchup against their personnel.
The winner will be: Franklin Regional. As the last undefeated team in the PIHL, it’s the Panthers title to lose. This statement comes with a caveat — Franklin Regional was in the finals six previous times before winning its first Penguins Cup last year, so history is not on the Panthers side. This team, however, may just be that good. Their scoring punch is incredible and Soltesz has avoided a sophomore slump with one of the best seasons in PIHL history.
— By Keith Barnes
First Published: March 3, 2017, 5:00 a.m.
