Seneca Valley went through a bit of an upheaval in the offseason when Almoved from longtime assistant into the head coaching spot as Anthony Raco took over the Central Catholic program.
“It’s been a really good start,” Mesisca said. “We’ve had a lot of support from the people around us. The program’s always been in good hands. It’s good that we’re off to a good start and success early on.”
Seneca Valley (7-1-2-0) is the only team in PIHL Class 3A with only one total loss this season. Mt. Lebanon (8-1-0-1), like the Raiders, has only one regulation loss, but dropped a critical point in a shootout loss to South Fayette on Dec. 16 in its last game before the holiday break.
Like Mt. Lebanon, Seneca Valley also dropped a one-goal game to South Fayette in December, but the team rebounded with a victory against Pine-Richland heading into the holidays, won the Pa. Hockey Scholastic Showcase during the PIHL schedule break and jumped back into the regular season with a 2-1 win against Upper St. Clair on Thursday at the Baierl Ice Complex.
With the win against the Panthers, Seneca Valley is now 4-1 with a pair of overtime victories in one-goal games.
“That’s the message every night that we’re going into the homestretch of the year and every point is important,” Mesisca said. “We’ve kind of had a slow schedule. Other teams have 13 or 14 games in, so we’re looking at this like we’re going to build momentum late in the year, playing a lot of games and this is where we want to be.”
Although the coach may have changed, one thing that remained the same with the Raiders is outstanding goaltending as junior Christopher Nichols has taken charge between the pipes. In his first season as the starter, he is 7-0-0 with a 2.01 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage.
“Chris has been lights out. He’s been our backbone since the beginning of the year,” Mesisca said. “We can rely on him so much it allows us to play free and know that we have a great goaltender back there. Knowing that we have that support in the net has just been huge.”
So far the forwards have taken advantage of the added freedom to roam as Seneca Valley has scored 47 goals in its 10 games, an average of 4.70 goals. Last season the Raiders finished with 75 goals in 20 games for a 3.75 average.
Senior Andrew Malichky is in the top 10 in the classification in scoring with 10 assists and 15 points, and Braden Morin is tied for fourth in Class 3A with eight goals.
Putting up an extra goal per game will come in handy as the team plays its final 10 games in the stretch run to the postseason.
Hitting back of net
It’s not out of the ordinary for the leading scorer in the PIHL to come out of Class 1A. It is the classification with the most teams and, because of annual realignment, has programs struggling to find their way without moving down to either Division 2 or junior varsity only status.
That being said, there is an ongoing battle for the league overall goal-scoring title taking place in the classification.
Montour senior Aiden Moskovitz, who only had 15 goals last season, is currently in the lead with 20 in 12 games. But there are four players one goal behind him, led by Jake Fink of Greensburg Salem, Moon’s Landon Watson and North Hills junior Jonathan Trosky.
Also lurking is Chartiers Valley sophomore Noah Callender, a 30-goal scorer last year, who has 17 in just nine games.
Waiting for 1st win
With most teams heading into the stretch run for the playoffs, there are a few still struggling to put a ‘1’ in the win column.
Considering how competitive Class 3A is, it’s rare when there is a winless team and this year won’t be the exception. All 11 teams have at least three wins.
In Class 2A, Norwin, which won the Class 1A Penguins Cup title in 2022 and was the fourth-place regular-season finisher in the regular season a year ago, is 0-12-0-1 this season with its only point coming in an overtime loss to Baldwin.
There is also one team in Class 1A still seeking its first victory and, when it happens, it will be momentous.
Kiski Area, which won the Class 1A Penguins Cup title in 2023, has not won a game since taking home its first-ever championship. Including the Cavaliers loss to West Chester East in the 2023 state championship game, they have dropped 34 consecutive games, with their only point coming in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Hilltoppers on. Nov. 19.
Rankings
Wins-Losses-Overtime/shootout wins-overtime/shootout losses
Class 3A
1. Seneca Valley 7-1-2-0
2. Mt. Lebanon 8-1-0-1
3. Central Catholic 7-4-0-2
4. North Allegheny 5-4-1-0
5. South Fayette 4-4-2-1
Class 2A
1. Latrobe 10-2-0-0
2. Penn-Trafford 11-2-0-1
3. Cathedral Prep 8-2-1-0
4. Fox Chapel 7-2-0-1
5. Armstrong 4-6-2-0
Class 1A
1. Quaker Valley 14-0-0-0
2. Chartiers Valley 10-1-0-0
3. Moon 12-2-0-1
4. Shaler 10-3-0-0
5. Mars 11-3-0-0
Keith Barnes: kbarnes.pg@gmail.com and @KBarnes_PG on X
First Published: January 5, 2025, 9:50 p.m.
