Article written by Keith Barnes and reposted from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. 

Class 3A

Leading scorers: Wyatt George, Mt. Lebanon (24g 19a 43 pts); Trevor Gilliland, Butler (22-14-36); J.C. Bele, Bethel Park (17-14-31); Donovan Cullen, Cathedral Prep (13-16-29).

Leading goaltenders (Min. 10 GP): Logan Johnson, Seneca Valley (10-5-0, 1.72 GAA); Richard Karapandi, North Allegheny (7-3-0, 2.10 GAA); Connor Strobel, Butler (8-4-0, 2.81 GAA); Nick Dinner, Cathedral Prep (9-5-0, 2.85 GAA).

Top seeds: Peters Township is first, Seneca Valley second, Cathedral Prep third, North Allegheny fourth.

The scoop: Any of the top four teams could win the title. Reigning champion Peters Township has been in first place all season, but the Indians have stumbled a bit down the stretch after a 9-0-0-1 start and no team has defended a title in Class 3A since Bethel Park in 2001-02. Butler has the No. 2 offense with 77 goals and heads into the playoffs riding a five-game winning streak. Plum, the No. 8 seed and reigning Class 2A champion, is intriguing as the Mustangs spent most of the season mired in last place, but went 5-3-0-0 down the stretch with wins against Seneca Valley and Cathedral Prep

Winner will be: Seneca Valley. If the adage that defense wins championships is true, then the Raiders will win their first Penguins Cup. Though Seneca Valley has had its problems scoring goals at times, Johnson has been a stalwart between the pipes and has not allowed more than four pucks get behind him in any game this season. The Raiders also split with first-place Peters Township this season, winning in a shootout and losing in overtime.

Class 2A

Leading scorers: Zachary Kutch, Armstrong (24-33-57); Jace Rearick, Armstrong (27-26-53); Nicholas Benvenuti, Armstrong (17-23-40); Jared Gerger, Hempfield (24-15-39).

Leading goaltenders (Min. 10 GP): Connor Andrews, Hampton (7-2-0, 2.55 GAA); Daniel Soltesz, Franklin Regional (11-7-0, 2.78 GAA); Daniel Stauffer, Pine-Richland 6-4-0, 3.19 GAA); Danny Mitchell, Mars (9-9-0, 3.32 GAA).

Top seeds: Armstrong is first in the North/West, Latrobe is first in the South/West, Pine-Richland is second in the North/West, Upper St. Clair is second in the South/West.

The scoop: The South/East Division might be most propped for the postseason as the five qualifiers have been playing playoff games for the past two months. Only seven points separated first to last place and no team finished below .500. Franklin Regional is a two-time reigning Class 1A champion and has the postseason experience to make a run. Pine-Richland is in the playoffs for the first time in three years and coach Jim Black, who has won state titles with North Allegheny and the Rams, has the pedigree to get the most out of his players. Upper St. Clair has been surging down the stretch (4-1-0-0 in its last five) and has a 20-goal scorer in Quinn Giacobbe. Don’t count out Latrobe — a finalist last year — as senior forward Jared Schimizzi (17-21-38) can change a game.

Read the rest of the article by following the link below:

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/hsother/2018/03/01/PIHL-playoff-hockey-preview/stories/201803020006