PIHL 2013 Penguins Cup Preview Notebook

The PIHL Penguins Cup Finals in all three classes are set for Wednesday, 03/20/2013 at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA. They will be broadcast on MSAsports.net.

CLASS A FINALS: The (#1) Quaker Valley Quakers (24-0-0) will take on the (#2) Mars Fighting Planets (19-3-1) at 5 PM.

Quakers Quips: The Quakers have five players who put up 50 or more points during the regular 2012/2013 season: Jimmy Perkins in 19 games had 33 goals, 26 assists for 59 points; Adam Pilewicz in 21 games had 25 goals, 34 assists for 59 points; Connor Quinn in 22 games had 20 goals, 37 assists for 57 points; Clayton Bouchard in 22 games had 19 goals, 38 assists for 57 points: and Ryan Dickson in 22 games had 28 goals, 23 assists for 51 points. The goaltending chores for Quaker Valley were handled by Parker Sherry 12-0-0, a 0.942 GAA, and 196 saves, while Jonathan Pijar posted 9-0-0, a 0.82 GAA, and 110 saves.

Fighting Planets Points: The three leading scorers for Mars are Craig Mazzotta, who in 19 games had 22 goals, 19 assists for 41 points; Nicholas Makozy in 21 games had 19 goals, 19 assists for 38 pints; and Maxwell Master in 19 games had 14 goals, 18 assists for 32 points. Between the pipes for the Planets are Christian Knapp 12-1-1, a 1.56 GAA, and 301 saves, while Alex Stepke had 5-2-0, a 3.00 GAA, and 107 saves.

Game Notes: Quaker Valley, under head coach Kevin Quinn, has won 32 straight games, and have won or tied 45 straight. The Quakers have the best defense in the PIHL by allowing only 22 goals in 24 games.

The Planets, under head coach Steve Meyers, are the last team to defeat Quaker Valley, 4-3 back in November 2011. Mars put up 129 goals on the scoreboard this season, and allowed the second least amount of goals with 43.

If the Fighting Planets can keep it close in to the third period, Mars does have a chance to pull off the upset. However, my final prediction is Quaker Valley 4 – Mars 2.

CLASS AA FINALS: The (#4) Pine-Richland Rams (16-4-1) will battle the (#2) Latrobe Wildcats (18-3-0) at 7 PM.

Rams Ramblings: The Pine-Richland offense is led by Dillon Kessy who in 19 games had 29 goals, 28 assists for 57 points, Zachary Richey in 19 games had 30 goals, 22 assists for 52 points; and Ryan Cole in 19 games had 8 goals, 26 assists for 34 points. The Rams number one goaltender is Brendan Bagnato 13-3-1, a 1.89 GAA, and 241 saves

Wildcats Wanderings: The Latrobe offense is led by Joshua Singley, who in 19 games had 21 goals, 30 assists for 51 points; Adam Ferguson in 19 games had 19 goals, 24 assists for 43 points; and Brendan Johns in 18 games had 17 goals, 16 assists for 33 points. Latrobe turns to Shane Brudnok 15-3-0, a 1.73 GAA, and 353 saves to get it done in the net.

Game Info: The Rams, under head coach Mike Bagnato, get it done on the powerplay, as Zach Richey led the entire league with 12 powerplay goals this season. Brendan Bagnato has allowed only four goals during the postseason.

Latrobe, under head coach John Winebrenner tied for the Class AA lead with 123 goals, while leading the league with just 31 goals alowed on the scoreboard.

This game is probably the hardest one to call on the night, but my final prediction is a hard fought 2-1 classic with Latrobe pulling out the victory.

CLASS AAA FINALS: The (#1) Peters Township Indians (19-4-0) will play the (#3) North Allegheny Tigers (17-4-2) at 9 PM.

Indians Ink: The Peters Township offense is led by Trevor Recktenwald, who in 18 games had 28 goals, 39 assists for 67 points; Adam Alavi in 17 games had 23 goals, 28 assists for 51 points; and Alexander Debolt in 20 games had 17 goals, 33 assists for 50 points. The man patrolling between the pipes for the Indians is Brian Baker 14-3-0, a 2.23 GAA, and 407 saves.

Tigers Tails: The North Allegheny offense is spearheaded by Cody Black, who in 21 games had 10 goals, 20 assists for 30 points; Charles Johnson in 21 games had 15 goals, 14 assists for 29 points; and Connor Cash in 19 games had 6 goals, 23 assists for 29 points. The netminder for the Tigers is Bradford Thornburgh 11-4-1, a 1.98 GAA, and 320 saves.

Game Info: Peters Township has won 15 straight to get to Consol Energy Center. The Indians, under head coach Rick Tingle, have the leading offense in AAA with 133 goals scored this season.

North Allegheny, under head coach James Black, led Class AAA in defense with only 37 goals allowed. Also, it was the Tigers who last defeated Peters Township, before the 15 game winning streak.

If, the Indians can control the puck with their excellent fore-check, it will be an exciting night cap at Consol Energy Center. My final prediction is Peters Township 5 – North Allegheny 3.

The winners will then take on the Flyers Cup victors for the Pennsylvania Cup state championships being held at the Iceworks in Aston, PA on Saturday, 03/23/13.

The Class A Penguins Cup winner will take on the West Chester East Vikings at 11 AM. The Class AA Penguins Cup winner will take on the Cherokee Chiefs at 1:30 PM. The Class AAA Penguins Cup winner will do battle with the La Salle Explorers at 4 PM.