Central Region

2014 Penguins Cup Preview AAA Final 4 should happen

Bethel Park (17 3 0) AAA

o Bethel Park has been Western Pa’s top AAA Team with Peters Twp all season and the Hawks will need goaltending to get to the Penguins Cup as they have survived many close games. Forward Christian Siak gets special attention from the opposition and still puts up impressive numbers as the Coach McVay’s Hawks know it takes 26 players to be a part of the process for the State Championship, which is the goal of the program and # 6 looms if other Hawks pick up the scoring

Peters Twp (16 4 0) AAA

o The Indians were a bounce one way or the other away from the Penguins Cup a year ago, which is a lot closer than the previous two years for coach Tingle’s PT squad. Peters has the numbers and the goaltending of Brian Baker to win it and championships are won by a combination of your numbers at the AAA level and those unheralded younger players who sometimes go under the radar and what I like is the balance of this lineup and the way PT plays the game and will maybe need an unlikely aforementioned to be the hero FINAL 4 is Possible

North Allegheny (12 7 1) AAA

o This may be one of Jim Black’s best coaching years ever after the Tigers won the Pennsylvania High School Hockey Championship in 2013. Developing players and trust me this is a young team he has and maybe that late season loss to Fox Chapel was just the wake-up call that NA needed to get back to work on defending their title because you must score big goals to do it as they found out a year ago and if they do it will be Marty Hubert and with Bradford Thornburgh between the pipes, it is a good bet that the Tigers will get another shot at either Bethel or Peters in the Semis.

 Pine Richland (11 8 1) AAA

o Bags has numbers and his program rightfully made the jump to Class AAA with over 80 kids in Development for the Rams. Maturity says Pine Richland is a year away and a combination of youth and experience with Kyle Cunningham, Nick Matelin, Ryan Cole, and Matthew Cole this may be a team that leaps from the pack and claims a final 4 spot, which gives them a great chance to compete for a Penguins Cup.

Butler (13 7 0) AAA

o Mike Guentner has had an interesting season as the Golden Toronadoes have been through highs and lows. If you watch this club closely, you’ll see some pretty patient players on offense and great ability to have team scoring across the board with Troy Double, Connor Scott, Nick Whann and Tanner Chuba leading the pack. My only question is can Butler make a commitment to team defense and get great goaltending from Logan Rothbauer to carry their efforts through a very deep Penguins Cup field…this is a dangerous team in an elimination game…can’t wait to watch.

Seneca Valley (11-9-0) AAA

o Anthony Raco learned a lesson in October and another in December and maybe the biggest one in early February as Seneca Valley has navigated its way through a very interesting season. When you watch the younger players on the Raiders you can see it coming and my question is that group going to bound with the older players in front of goaltender Tanner Pfeffer. Chris Marziotto, Brendan McFarlane and Peter Kipin when combined a young group led by Alexander Crilley could give SV two lethal scoring units and this is another very solid team that could have a coming out party sooner than expected if the stars align. FINAL 4 is a Stretch

Canon McMillan (11-8-1) AAA

o Terry Virtue inherited a program at Canon Mac that has numbers, has front end talent and has competed well in the Penguins Cup very well over the past few years. A late season shredding of Seneca Valley showed the Big Macs can score with JD Oddi, Austin Tonkovich and Zach Mannsmann leading the way and my question is does this team have the necessary discipline to get it done against the big boys

Central Catholic (12-7-1) AAA

o The Vikings have not been a part of the Penguins Cup process for several years and Billy Connelly and his coaching staff have some decisions to make when the playoff bell rings. Baptism by fire sometimes produces great results and CC has some excellent young talent to insert into a solid lineup and a very good goaltender in Brian Burger. If they find the right combinations in the season’s final week against PR, NA and Butler, this could be the beginning of a title search for Central over the next few years and my question is why not

Penn Trafford (12-8-0) AAA

o With all due respect, Penn Trafford has not won much in their history and does not have a great track record in the Penguins Cup playoffs outside of a couple of glimpses over it history. Parents do not win championships and it’s the players and coaches who make the right decisions, when the chips are down who will bring their programs closer to being a part of the process. Brian Lehneke has one of the best goaltenders in Western Pa in junior Eric Phelps and the line of Jonah Graffius, Jacob Miller and Jordan Eisenstat can score and what the program has developed is numbers and they need to use three lines against the very good Penguins Cup AAA field to be able to compete for a shot at glory and when they figure that out maybe their teams will start producing results.

AA

Canevin (21 2 0) AA

o The Mighty Crusaders, says one Emeritus Long Time Hockey supporter of Coach Z, should be a full force entering the 2014 Penguins Cup Playoffs. Championship Programs have all sorts of attributes and Kevin Zielmanski is very calculated when he talks about his program, but the facts are facts and the numbers are the number and Canevin has been start to finish the best team in Class AA. All knitted jerseys aside the Crusaders who fill the uniforms are as solid of a Class AA team in many years, even rivaling the 2011, 1989, 1984 and 1983 squads of Blue and Blue. Randy Unger, Alec Bosnic and freshman Liam Walsh are the go to guys on this team, but what follows them is what make Canevin in front of Nikita Meskin. Will we see a Caped Crusader at Pegula ……Tune In Same Bat Time Same Bat Channel cause this team is on its way! ?

Cathedral Prep (16 4 2) AA

o If there is one lesson this group of Ramblers has learned this season, maybe they appreciate the Penguins Cup run a couple of years ago that ended in disappointment when many in this group were freshman and in development. Coach Craig Barnett is a teacher and the lesson he would like to teach them is that great teams play with composure, discipline and patience as a recipe for success. Whether this team has the competitive greatness and work ethic necessary to exercise those qualities is in question and when they go on the power play it will be Trevor Faulkner, John Colvin, Ben Eliason and the brothers Kelly to get it done and the numbers that showed up for tryouts and in development o take care of the rest….Could this be their year ? ?

Armstrong (16 5 1) AA

o River Hawks …….I like the colors more than the name and it was about time that this program stepped out of Class A and the Open Division and it has taken a better part of this year just for some of the players and coaches just to get used to it. Doug Anthony has a very interesting program in the making and in development and could use some sweetener for his hot chocolate if you will to warm up for the playoffs. Christian Miller, Hunter Grafton and Luke Gross can score like no other team in Class AA, but it takes 20 players to get to the top and Armstrong has a long history of great players but a spotted history of great teams.

Hampton (13 8 1) AA

o Hampton has a very solid goaltender in Cam Raidna and some pretty good scorers in Zack Kosick, Ethan Homitz and Eric Leya….but winning in the playoffs takes discipline and sometimes patience from players who seem to take inopportune penalties that swing the tide of a close game. The Talbots are like a bad storm front coming through that could leave anything in its path and while their faithful hope its opposing teams the opposing teams hope it’s the Talbots exit from the playoffs, which has been their history over 40 years.

Plum (12 7 3) AA

o The Mustangs have knocked off some giants in front of them this season and coach Dave Stonebreaker will learn that to compete with the big Dawgs in the playoffs is a different story. Joe Randazzo and David Stonebreaker have carried the squad offensively, which is great but 17 minute periods against teams with three lines like Canevin, Prep and Armstrong will expose Plum and those go to players will not be fresh in the final minutes when needed to make a playoff run. A final four appearance would be a great accomplishment but that’s where it will end unless 20 bodies are in the lineup and serviceable.  

Latrobe (11-8-3) AA

o When your squad loses a keystone like Dalton Hunter. It is tough to repeat as Pennsylvania High School Hockey Champions and John Winebrenner has some nice players in Chris Johnson, Adam Ferguson and Brendan Johns and the key to the Wildcats four Championship run has been a mix of great numbers in Development, excellent front end talent and great goaltending and something is missing from this year’s Latrobe contingent  

Chartiers Valley (11-11-0) AA

o CV coach Sean Biancanello has terrific tandum with Anthony Franks and Cullen McMahon and the supporting cast and goaltending has let down the Colts this season and their playoff hopes go with it

North Hills (10-12-0) AA

o North Hills won its first division title over 40 years of hockey and thanks to Brandon Dudt-Mulzet’s efforts the Indians Program is on its ways to building toward a strong future. Brett Berner is an awesome player, but unfortunately everyone knows it and he is a marked player when NH takes the ice.

A

Quaker Valley (21 1 0) A

o When QV Coach Kevin Quinn talks the Quakers listen and maybe people in Western Pennsylvania should take some notes? About SMALL School Program Development, which takes a lot of resources including Players, Coaches and Cooperative and Supportive Boosters, but most of all it takes Leadership and a Trustee to see this process work for Long Term Development and a run of Championships. Last March QV learned a lesson as it ran through the Penguins Cup and West Chester East was waiting for them and abushed them for a period or so and then QV woke up and almost pulled off one of the great comebacks in Pennsylvania High School Hockey History, only to fall short. What Quaker Valley needs to do is take every game and every shift and play hockey and let the field take penalties and take advantage of a great power play led by Jimmy Perkin, Ryan Lottes, Alexander Quinn and Connor Quinn to lead them to the promised land with no promises

Freeport (14 5 2) A

o Dave Hepler has been the Trustee of a pretty neat Western Pennsylvania Small School Gem at Freeport for many years. These Yellow Jackets may use the battle cry of 2007 when Freeport and the Late Tim Zahemensky upended Quaker Valley at the Mellon Arena to gain their one Pennsylvania High School Hockey Championship and lone Penguins Cup Title. This is a very good team and in their final meeting with Quaker Valley in the regular season would not go away in the final minutes to fall short by a goal. Cole Hepler, Michael Frazetta, Brendan Zack and Stone Haberstroh led a hungry team into the playoffs in front of a very good keeper in Matt Huston and what I like about Hepler is he keeps his best fresh into the final minutes of the game, which could pay dividends at Consol…looking forward to it, but there are 3 other Schools who would like to have a say in that conversation.

Mars (17 5 0) A

o Jupiter High School is off the East Coast of Florida and maybe rivals the economic development in the North Suburbs and Adams Twp, where the Pittsburgh Penguins are building their shrine in the hockey community. Until that happens and someone explains it to me, somehow the Mars Hockey Program, with nearly 60 players in Development is still in Class A, while fielding other Sports Programs in Higher Classification. The Planets have won a couple of State Championships in Hockey and deservedly the accolades that go with it and have done it with the top end talent, goaltending and development necessary to produce competitive advantage over many other programs. A weak Class A bracket keeps this formula at the top, but it takes a little more to put it over the top for the only School to defeat Quaker Valley with Nick Makozy. Beau Heakins and Crai Mazzotta leading the way for Mars.

Thomas Jefferson (15 5 2) A

o TJ stands for Thomas Jefferson and coach Bill Crousey stands for no nonsense. After the Jaguars handled a less than full lineup with Mars, as legend would have it, the coach had a message for his players who seemed to want to celebrate the mid-season victory. TJ has talent in Zach Uhlyer, Tommy Kimmick and Nick Tanburi and sometimes as we saw with Serra Catholic many years ago, small programs who manage the game can provide theatrics like no other. This is an interesting story and oh by the way 3-Time State Champions a while back under Don Powell. Watch out for Thomas Jefferson in March

Westmont Hilltop (13 6 3) A

o When you see a Hilltopper Trustee in Kittanning on a Sunday Night in February, it means that two things have occurred….# 1 the Haven MAY be closed or # 2 King Arthur was attracted to another smell in Western Pennsylvania. There are five schools out of 10 in Class A and the Mighty Hilltoppers are one of them. After a Friday Night 4-1 lead evaporated to TJ, Art McQuillan was undeterred to go scout two principals in the Penguin Cup puzzle and longs for that shot at another Pennsylvania High School Hockey Championship and like 2003 (When Radnor had 4 Division 1 Studs) and 1996 (when McCort was King) this 2014 Squad has depth, goaltending and enough McQuillan’s to have a shot.

Deer Lakes (10-12-0) A

o Somebody asked this year me a simple question about where is Deer Lakes and my answer was somewhere between Kittanning and Fox Chapel near the Mills….Great Answer? DL Coach Todd Luniewski may have a different answer, but what I can tell you is that this is a Small Program on the way back and with Zac Luniewski, Mitch Rupprecht and Thomas Lisowski at the helm, they can score and gives them a chance to win hockey games.

 For those heading to the Penguins Cup Playoffs …Good Luck 

   The Pennsylvania High School Hockey Championships are schedule for Saturday March 22nd at the Pegula Ice Arena in State College Pennsylvania as the Flyers Cup Champions will meet the Penguins Cup Champions for the State Finals. Western Pennsylvania has begun to celebrate a little early as Division Championships are crowned and congrats to all and good luck in the 'Pursuit of Pegula'

A 

Freeport Yellow Jackets - 2nd Straight Division Title 

Quaker Valley Quakers - 11 Titles in 13 Years for QV 

Thomas Jefferson Jaguars - 2nd Straight and 8th in School History for TJ

Westmont Hilltop Hilltoppers - 2nd Straight and 8th in School History for Westmont 

AA

Canevin Crusaders - 6th Division Title in 7 Years 

Cathedral Prep - First Division Title since 2000 

North Hills Indians - First Division Title in 41 Years  

Plum Mustangs - First Division Title since 2007 and 8th in School Hisory   

AAA 

North Allegheny Tigers - 9th Division Title in 14 Years and 13th Overall for NA  

Central Catholic Vikings - Vikings win 3rd Division title in a eow and 12th in School History

Butler Golden Toronadoes - First AAA Division Title in School Hisory  

Bethel Park Blackhawks - First Division Title since 2007