Bishop Canevin will be heading to Dallas on Wednesday to compete in the USA Hockey Nationals.
Before the Crusaders hop on that plane, though, they’ll have to take care of a little bit of business at home.
Sophomore Cole Evans had a hat trick, including a game-changing short-handed goal in the second period, to lift Bishop Canevin to a 5-1 victory against Wilmington in the PIHL Division 2 semifinals.
“It’s huge,” Bishop Canevin coach Eric Glover said. “We almost got here last year and lost in overtime and it feels good to finally get there.”
Bishop Canevin led 1-0 early before Wilmington came back to tie it on an Andrew Cartwright goal 2:04 into the second period.
That was when Evans took over. Just six seconds into a power-play opportunity, he found the back of the net and gave the Crusaders the lead for good at 12:50 of the second period.
Jacob Melesky popped Evans loose on a mini-breakaway and a short-handed goal to put the Crusaders ahead 3-1.
“Cole just dominated out there,” Glover said.
Other semifinal
Neshannock 4, Ringgold 3: Tommy Malvar scored twice to help the Lancers jump out to a 3-0 lead, but they still needed a Micah Dejulia goal at 10:37 of the third to lock up a spot in the final. Neshannock also is the defending Division 2 champion.
Trailing by three, the Rams scored three consecutive times to tie the score, 3-3, on Nathan Boulanger’s goal with 7:52 remaining.
But the tie only lasted 1:29 before Dejulia knocked home the game-winner.
First Published: March 18, 2022, 3:39 a.m.
