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NORTH ALLEGHENY VARSITY ICE HOCKEY

GAME SUMMARIES

TIGERS WIN NINTH STRAIGHT WITH 9-0 WIN OVER CATHEDRAL PREP

Nine was the magic number on Thursday night at the Erie Civic Center as the Tigers won their ninth straight game with a 9-0 victory over the Cathedral Prep Ramblers.  Senior forward Matt Pekins led the way with four goals and an assist, junior defenseman Paul Dittrich had a goal and three assists, and sophomore center Wes Waldschmidt contributed four assists as the Tigers outshot the Ramblers, 62-8.

Pekins opened the scoring on assists from seniors Garrett Waldschmidt and Ryan Sheran to give NA a 1-0 lead.  The goal would turn out to be the winning goal as Tiger defense and goalies Jeff Kristan and Brandon Wiedwald would not allow a Prep goal.  Junior Alan Halapin scored on an assist from Wes Waldschmidt as the Tigers took a 2-0 advantage to the first intermission.

In the second period, the Tigers scored four times as they outshot the Ramblers, 20-2.  Senior defenseman Matt Zrebiec got things started in the period on assists from junior defenseman Ian McGlumphy and Pekins.  Pekins made it 4-0 with Dittrich and Wes Waldschmidt earning the helpers.  Senior Brandon Lied made a great individual play to increase the margin to 5-0.  After Prep goalie Ryan Zapolski stopped a breakaway by Lied, the Tiger senior put the rebound over Zapolski's head.  Dittrich finished off the scoring in the second stanza as the Tigers took a 6-0 lead into the second intermission.

In the third period, senior forward Derek Rusbarsky pushed the lead to 7-0 on another assist by Dittrich.  Pekins completed the hat trick to increase the lead to 8-0, and then, for good measure, scored his fourth goal on an assist from Wes Waldschmidt as the Tigers rolled to a 9-0 victory.

It was a total domination by the Tigers as they continue to play outstanding hockey in the early part of the season.  Kristan played the first two periods while Wiedwald came in for the third period to share the shutout.  With the win, the Tigers solidified their hold on first place in the West Division as they improved their record to 9-1.  NA will be back in action again next Thursday when they travel to Bladerunners in Harmarville to meet the Central Catholic Vikings.  Game time is scheduled for 8:30 pm.

(Thanks to Jim Pekins for the info in this report!)

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 9  CATHEDRAL PREP - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

SHOTS ON GOAL

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SENECA VALLEY FALLS TO TIGERS, 6-2

To listen to a replay of the game, click here!

Six different Tiger players scored goals as the Tigers dominated Seneca Valley on Tuesday night at Bladerunners in Warrendale in a 6-2 victory.  Junior Joe Camut and sophomore Wes Waldschmidt each had a goal and an assist as the Tigers won their eighth consecutive victory after an opening game loss.

The Tigers dominated play in the early going but had nothing to show for it.  Three steals in the offensive end led to scoring opportunities but Seneca goalie Jeff Reed stopped all three chances.  Senior Matt Pekins had a chance from right in front at the 13:36 mark, and senior forward Brandon Lied was denied with 10:27 remaining as the game remained scoreless. The Raiders' Caleb Hudspath countered with a good shot from the slot but his attempt went wide.  The Tigers continued the pressure on the Seneca Valley goal with Lied and senior Derek Rusbarsky getting chances with under five minutes to go in the period.  After Pekins was robbed at the 1:54 mark, Camut finally put the Tigers ahead with a goal on a rebound of a shot by senior defenseman Ryan Sheran with just 1:15 remaining.  That was the only goal of the period as the Tigers took a 1-0 lead to the first intermission.

After a penalty free first period, senior defenseman Matt Zrebiec picked up a roughing call just 1:34 into the second period.  The Raiders made NA pay as Kevin Raynovich tipped in a shot by Hudspath to tie the game at 1-1 at the 12:15 mark.  The Tigers answered quickly with two goals in the next two minutes.  Lieb was able to poke in a rebound of a shot by Wes Waldschmidt to give NA a 2-1 advantage at the 10:28 mark.  Just 19 seconds later, senior defenseman Paul Dittrich stole the puck at his own blue line and skated down the left side.  Dittrich's centering pass was deflected into the net as the Tigers increased the lead to 3-1.  Seneca Valley cut the margin to 3-2 when Brent Trantor launched a long shot from just inside the red line and it found the corner of the net with 6:35 remaining in the period.  Once again the Tigers answered with senior center Garrett Waldschmidt firing in a rebound of a shot by Zrebiec at the 3:10 mark.  The hitting picked up in the last two minutes with three penalties being called.  The teams went to the second intermission with the Tigers holding a 4-2 lead.

The third period began with the Tigers getting a two-man advantage just 15 seconds into the period.  NA kept the pressure on, but the Seneca defense was able to kill the penalties to keep the score at 4-2.  A minute after the penalties were over, Wes Waldschmidt intercepted a clearing pass and beat Reed with a hard shot to push the NA lead to 5-2.  The Raiders' James Blackburn was called for elbowing at the 9:37 mark.  On the power play, the Tigers kept the puck in the Seneca end, but the best scoring chance by Lied was stopped by Reed.  With just under five minutes remaining, junior Tiger defenseman Ian McGlumphy slid a shot from the left point that got by Reed who was screened by a group of players in front of the net.  The goal put NA on top by a 6-2 margin.  Neither team scored in the remaining time and the Tigers captured a 6-2 victory over the Raiders.

A number of players contributed to the victory, but the North Allegheny Sports Network selected Wes Waldschmidt as the Player of the Game.  With the victory, the NA record improved to 8-1 on the PIHL season and kept them in first place in the West Division.  The Tigers will be back in action tomorrow night when they travel to the Erie Civic Center to meet Cathedral Prep.  Game time is scheduled for 8:15 pm.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 6  SENECA VALLEY - 2

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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RUSBARSKY'S HAT TRICK LEADS TIGERS OVER STATE COLLEGE, 5-1

Senior Derek Rusbarsky scored three consecutive goals to lead the Tigers to a 5-1 victory at State College on Thursday night.  Sophomore Wes Waldschmidt and junior Alan Halapin scored the first two goals for NA as the Tigers won their seventh consecutive PIHL contest.  Senior forward Matt Pekins contributed three assists for the winning Tigers.  

After State College took an early 1-0 lead, Wes Waldschmidt tied the game on assists from seniors Pekins and Ryan Sheran.  Halapin's goal put the Tigers ahead for good, 2-1.  Rusbarsky put the game out of reach with his natural hat trick as NA went on to win, 5-1.  The Tigers dominated the contest, outshooting State College by a margin of 36-13.

With the win the Tigers improved their record to 7-1 and maintained their position in first place in the West Division.  The Tigers return home next Tuesday for a game against neighborhood rival Seneca Valley.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the game LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 7:40 pm.  Game time is scheduled for 7:50 pm.

(Thanks to Jim Pekins for info in this report!)

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 5  STATE COLLEGE - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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SIX GOAL SECOND PERIOD FINISHES FOXES, 7-1

The Tigers erupted for six goals in the second period on their way to a 7-1 victory over Fox Chapel at Bladerunners in Harmarville on Monday night.  Senior captain Derek Rusbarsky had three assists while junior defenseman had a goal and three assists as the Tigers won their sixth consecutive PIHL game.  Senior Matt Pekins and junior Chris Gilson had two goals each for NA.

In the first period, Pekins gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead on assists from Rusbarsky and senior defenseman Matt Zrebiec.  Neither team could score for the remainder of the period as NA took a 1-0 advantage to the first intermission.

The Tigers broke the game open with six goals in the second stanza.  Sophomore Wes Waldschmidt made it 2-0 with brother Garrett increasing the margin to 3-0.  Gilson pushed the lead to 4-0 on assists from junior Chris Simanic and Dittrich as the Tigers took control of the contest.  Pekins second goal gave NA a 5-0 lead before Dittrich was able to increase the margin to 6-0.  Gilson completed the scoring in the period on an assist from Dittrich as the Tigers took a commanding 7-0 advantage to the second intermission.

Fox Chapel avoided the shutout with a goal just 14 seconds before the end of the game.  Senior goalie Jeff Kristan and junior netminder Brandon Wiedwald shared duties in goal for the winning Tigers.  The victory was the sixth consecutive win in PIHL play and put NA in first place in the West Division with a record of 6-1.

(Thanks again to Jim Pekins for info in this report!)

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 7  FOX CHAPEL - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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TIGERS CRUSH LEBO, 7-1, FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT PIHL WIN

Senior Matt Pekins scored twice and assisted on two additional goals at the Tigers defeated Mt. Lebanon, 7-1, on Tuesday night at Bladerunners in Warrendale.  The Tigers opened a 3-0 lead after the first period and never looked back as they downed the defending PIHL champions for the second time in three days.

In the first period, Pekins scored the all-important first goal on assists from sophomore Wes Waldschmidt and senior Derek Rusbarsky to give NA a 1-0 advantage.  Senior defenseman Ryan Sheran made it 2-0 while Wes Waldschmidt followed with goal number three on assists from Pekins and senior Garrett Waldschmidt.  The Tigers outshot Lebo, 11-3, to take a commanding 3-0 lead after one period.

Pekins opened the second period scoring after receiving a great cross ice pass from junior Chris Simanic as the Tigers extended the margin to 4-0.  Senior forward Brandon Lied set up Simanic to give the Tigers a 5-0 advantage after two periods of play.

In the third period, junior Alan Halapin scored to push the lead to 6-0.  Sophomore Matt Lancaster finished the scoring on assists from senior David Hudzinski and junior Chris Gilson.  Mt. Lebanon was able to score a late goal to break up the shutout, but it was an NA night in Warrendale!  The Tigers outshot Lebo, 24-15, in the game.

The win was the fifth consecutive victory in PIHL play and moved the Tigers into a first-place tie with McDowell in the West Division.  The Tigers will be back in action again on Monday when they travel to Fox Chapel for a 7:20 pm contest.

(Special thanks to Jim Pekins for information in this report!)

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 7  MT. LEBANON - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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TIGERS CAPTURE CENTRAL INVITATIONAL TITLE

Coach Tom Pandolfo's Tigers defeated Mt. Lebanon, 2-0, in the championship game of the Central Catholic Invitational Tournament on Sunday afternoon at Bladerunners in Harmarville.  In the semifinals on Sunday morning, NA downed Orchard Park (NY), 2-0, to advance to the final against Lebo.  The Blue Devils edged Bethel Park, 2-1, to advance to the championship game.

In the championship game, neither team could score through the first two periods of play.  With ten minutes remaining, senior Matt Pekins took a great pass from senior Garrett Waldschmidt to give NA a 1-0 advantage with ten minutes remaining.  Minutes later, senior Derek Rusbarsky scored the all -important insurance goal on an assist from Pekins as the Tigers went on to win the title with a 2-0 victory.  The NA defense was outstanding led by senior goalie Jeff Kristan with senior defenseman Matt Zrebiec and Ryan Sheran, along with junior blueliners Paul Dittrich and Ian McGlumphy, holding off Lebo to ensure the victory over top-ranked Lebo.

In the semifinal game on Sunday morning, the Tigers downed Orchard Park (NY), 2-0, to advance to the final.  Once again, the game was scoreless after two periods.  With four minutes left in the game, Rusbarsky was able to put home the game winner on a rebound of a Dittrich shot.  Pekins scored an empty net goal on a pass from Dittrich to make it a 2-0 final.  Kristan was named the game MVP as he stopped 21 Orchard Park shots to earn the shutout

Senior Matt Pekins was named the Bill Downey Memorial Tournament MVP.  In the course of the tournament, NA defeated two Pennsylvania state champions, a New York state championship team, and the PIHL runnerup from last year on their way to the title.

(Thanks again to Jim Pekins for the info in this report!)

GAME SUMMARIES
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 2  ORCHARD PARK - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

NORTH ALLEGHENY - 2  MT. LEBANON - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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TIGERS WIN TWO MORE, ADVANCE TO SEMIFINALS

The Tigers won two games at the Central Catholic Invitational on Saturday to advance to the semifinals this morning at Bladerunners in Harmarville.  NA downed Upper St. Clair, 4-1, behind senior forward Matt Pekins who had a goal and three assists.  In the second game, the Tigers tallied four times in the first period on their way to a 5-1 victory over Archbishop Carroll.  Five different players scored goals as NA moved on to the semifinals.  

In the first game, senior forward Derek Rusbarsky gave NA a 1-0 lead with a first period goal on assists from Pekins and senior Garrett Waldschmidt.  Sophomore Wes Waldschmidt made it 2-0 in the second period before USC came back to cut the lead to 2-1.  Pekins pushed the margin to 3-1 later in the period.  In the third period. Garrett Waldschmidt extended the margin to 4-1 in the third period as the Tigers gained a measure of revenge for an earlier defeat at the hands of the Panthers.  Senior goalie Jeff Kristan was in net for the victory as the Tigers outshot the Panthers, 20-19.

The second game was all NA from the outset.  Four first period goals gave the Tigers a 4-1 advantage after just one stanza.  Senior defenseman Matt Zrebiec got the Tigers off and running with an early goal on assists from Wes Waldschmidt and senior Brandon Lied.  Pekins, Wes Waldschmidt and Garrett Waldschmidt followed with goals as NA jumped out to a three-goal lead after one period.  After a scoreless second period, junior Chris Simanic put the finishing touches on a 5-1 NA victory with a final goal.  Junior Alan Halapin had two assists as the Tigers cruised to the victory that put them in the semis.

The Tigers will face Orchard Park, NY, this morning with game time set for 8:45 am at Harmarville.  Orchard Park advanced with victories over Holy Ghost Prep, Montour and Meadville.  Mt. Lebanon will face Bethel Park in the other semifinal also at 8:45.  The winners will meet in the championship game this afternoon at 4:00 pm.

(Thanks to Jim Pekins for info in this report!)

GAME SUMMARIES
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 4  UPPER ST. CLAIR - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

NORTH ALLEGHENY - 5  ARCHBISHOP CARROLL - 1

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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TIGERS KNOCK OFF DEFENDING STATE CHAMPION MALVERN PREP, 2-0

The Tigers scored an impressive 2-0 victory over defending PIHL champion Malvern Prep in the preliminary round of the Central Invitational Tournament at Bladerunners in Harmarville on Friday afternoon.  Senior forwards Matt Pekins and Garrett Waldschmidt scored the NA goals as senior goalie Jeff Kristan and the Tiger defense kept Malvern off the board.  Senior forward Derek Rusbarsky had assists on both goals. 

Pekins gave NA a 1-0 lead in the first period as the Tigers took a one goal lead after one.  Neither team could score in the second period.  With the Tigers still  leading by a goal, Garrett Waldschmidt knocked in an insurance goal with less than ten minutes remaining to ensure the victory.  The NA defense led by seniors Matt Zrebiec and Ryan Sheran, along with juniors Paul Dittrich and Ian McGlumphy, shut down the potent Friar offense.

NA will continue play with two games today.  The Tigers will face off against Upper St. Clair at 7:30 am and come back to take on Archbishop Carroll at 1:00 pm.  The semifinals and finals will be played on Sunday.  The winners from the four pools will meet in the semifinals.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 2  MALVERN PREP - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

CENTRAL CATHOLIC INVITATIONAL
Harmarville Bladerunners
November 19-21, 2004

GAME SCHEDULE

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TIGERS DOMINATE NORWIN, 9-2, FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN

To listen to a replay of the game, click here!

Led by two goals each from junior forward Joe Camut and junior defenseman Paul Dittrich, the Tigers easily defeated the Norwin Knights, 9-2, at Bladerunners in Warrendale on Tuesday night.  Senior defenseman Matt Zrebiec recorded three assists as NA scored the first eight goals of the game on the way to their fourth victory against only one loss in the early season.  

The Tigers opened quickly putting pressure on the Norwin goal.  Senior forward Matt Pekins had two great chances early but was stopped by Norwin goalie Michael Pochin at the 10:45 mark and then shot wide less than a minute later.  The pressure finally paid off when Camut poked in a rebound with 6:41 remaining in the period after junior Chris Simanic made a nice move from behind the net.  Dittrich blasted his first goal into the upper right corner to make it 2-0 less than two minutes later. Camut picked up his second goal on an assist from Zrebiec at the 1:51 mark.  Senior forward Brandon Lied came close with just 55 seconds left but his shot hit the post.  The period ended with NA on a power play and leading 3-0.

The second period was more of the same as the Tigers kept the pressure on the Knight defense.  Dittrich tallied his second goal of the game on assists from senior forwards Derek Rusbarsky and Pekins as the lead increased to 4-0 just 1:40 into the period.  Five minutes later, junior Matt Lancaster was able to score from a scramble in front of the Norwin cage to make it a 5-0 game.  Norwin coach David Warren made a change in goal sending in Sean Cronin to replace Pochin.  Cronin had trouble immediately as he could not contain a hard shot by Zrebiec and senior David Hudzinski was able to poke in the rebound to give the Tigers a 6-0 advantage.  Junior goalie Brandon Wiedwald came up big in the latter stages of the period.  With Norwin on a power play, Wiedwald made two big saves to keep the lead at 6-0.  With just 25 seconds left. Wiedwald was able to make a sprawling save on a breakaway by Michael Ulicny, and the Tigers went to the second intermission with a commanding 6-0 advantage.

Pekins broke free just 20 seconds in the third period but Cronin made a good save.  Just 39 seconds later, junior forward Alan Halapin blasted a shot past Cronin to make it a 7-0 game.  Thirteen seconds later, Lied took a pass from Zrebiec and launched a hard shot from just inside the blue line to beat Cronin again as the lead ballooned to 8-0.  Norwin finally got on the board when Adam Ference bounced a shot in off the pads of Wiedwald at the 12:50 mark to cut the lead to 8-1.  Geoff Mihalo added an unassisted goal with 7:54 remaining to make it 8-2 as the clock continued to move because of the mercy rule.  The Tigers finished off the scoring with just 2:26 left when sophomore Wes Waldschmidt made a clever move down the right side and beat Cronin cleanly to give NA a 9-2 advantage.  Neither team scored in the remaining time and the Tigers had captured their fourth straight win with a 9-2 final.

It was a dominating performance by the Tigers as they outshot Norwin, 56-10.  Coach Tom Pandolfo got a good effort from his entire bench as they saw considerable playing time throughout the game.  For his efforts both offensively and defensively, the North Allegheny Sports Network selected Paul Dittrich as the Player of the Game.

With the victory, the Tigers maintained their hold on first place in the West division with a record of 4-1. 

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 9  NORWIN - 2

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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PIHL ICE HOCKEY - 2004-05

The Tigers will once again compete in Class AAA along with 21 other teams.  The Tigers are in the West Division and will play two games against Cathedral Prep and McDowell from Erie, along with Seneca Valley, Meadville and Butler.  NA has a 24-game schedule in league play with home games played at Bladerunners in Warrendale.

PIHL AAA ALIGNMENT - 22 TEAMS

Any questions or comments should be directed to Athletic Director Bob Bozzuto at:  bbozzuto@northallegheny.org