2019/2020 Girls & Boys District Champions - Ngin

1

                                                                                       March 2020

                  2019/2020 Girls & Boys District Champions
GATES MILLS, Ohio — When their hockey playing days are complete, members of the Pittsburgh Pens Elite
girl’s program will have developed a skill necessary to succeed in any business, as they certainly have learned
how to “close the deal.”

Shortly after the 19U Pens Elite captured the USA Hockey Mid-American District Girls’ Tier I Championship
by netting back-to-back goals within the final 3:37 of the third period in their title-clinching game, Pittsburgh’s
14U and 16U Tier I squads by closing out their opponents in either the third period, or in a shootout.

The Pens Elite program swept all three Tier I girls titles available in the Mid-American District after posting a
2-1 shootout victory in their title game. The shootout was necessary after the Cleveland Barons challenged the
defending national champion Pens through regulation and overtime period.

2

The Barons’ Kylie Coughlin tallied a first period goal in the match, followed by a Pens’ second period goal by
Angelina DiGirolamo.

Neither team could score in the third period or the overtime frame. Pittsburgh netted three consecutive shots in
the shootout for the victory with DiGirolamo credited for the game-winner.

Pens’ goaltender Lauren Ferrari stopped 16 of 17 shots faced.

Five burst leads 16U Pens to title

After a scoreless two periods of hockey, the Tier I 16U Penguins posted five goals in the final 9:21 of the third
period against the Gilmour Academy Gladiators on their way to a 5-0 victory. Three of those goals were special
teams power play efforts.

Blueliner Laney Potter provided a hat trick performance while Hannah Humes and Katherine Khramtsov
accounted for the other pair of goals. Izee Powell and Lily Stumm were credited with two assists each.

Netminder Sophie Bellina denied all 25 shots she faced while earning the shutout.

3

Girls Tier II Home
Steel City Selects sweep Tier II

The Pittsburgh area’s strength in girl’s hockey was also evident at the Tier II level as the Steel City Selects
earned all three division championships.

The 19U Steel City Selects will be heading to West Chester, Pennsylvania, for Nationals after defeating the
Armstrong Arrows 3-1.

Megan Swick lead Steel City’s attack with two goals and Scout Song added a goal. Song also had an assist in
the game.

Goaltender Hannah Vogel made 20 saves on 21 Armstrong shots.

4

Goaltender Abby Manzewitsch thwarted each of the dozen shots she faced in her shutout effort for the 16U
Steel City Selects in their 4-0 blanking of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Forward Sydney Banasick accumulated three points (two goals, one assist) while Laura Crnarich and Amanda
Sokol each tallied a goal. Cameran Evans earned three assists.

5

In wrapping up the weekend’s action, the Steel City Selects 14U squad claimed the division championship after
three wins and a shootout loss.

Eleven different players scored goals during the tournament for the Steel City Selects. Mckenzie Grimm and
Marissa Caswell netted four goals each over the weekend.

The leading goal scorer at the 14U Tier II Division was Bronte Burkart of the Indy Fusion.

Mid-American District

Girls Tier I

14U: Pittsburgh Penguins Elite
16U: Pittsburgh Penguins Elite
19U: Pittsburgh Penguins Elite

Girls Tier II

14U: Steel City Selects
16U: Steel City Selects
19U: Steel City Selects

By Jim Smith
Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

6

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — It wasn’t a single player carrying the load, or an overpowering offense
piling up goals that allowed the Ohio Blue Jackets to win their first 15-Only USA Hockey Mid-American
District Tournament title.

Nine different players scored goals over the four-game run in the tournament, including Jonathan Sonedecker
and Jackson Dickson in the championship-clinching 2-0 win against Pittsburgh Penguins Elite in the first of
four district finals played Sunday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

“This team all year has had the most success with a team game,” Ohio coach Ed Gingher said. “We’ve got some
really talented players — but they have all bought into the effort with and without the puck, and that’s been fun
for us.”

Eleven of the 12 forwards listed on the Ohio roster had at least one point over the four victories over the
weekend (including 5-3 against the Cleveland Barons, 2-1 against the Esmark Stars and 4-2 against Tri-State).

Sonedecker, Mason LaBel, Kyle Mead and Brandon Paluszak each had two goals during the tournament for
Ohio, which advanced to the 2020 Chipotle-USA Hockey Youth Tier I 15-Only National Championships April
1-6 in Plymouth, Michigan. LeBel, Mead and Trevin Ehrie tallied three points.

Gingher described the line of John Kneidel, Dickson and Mason Hackett as the Blue Jackets “pulse.”

“They were our heartbeat,” Gingher said. “They are the ones who will take the others to the trenches. In a game
where it’s so tight checking and it’s a battle, those are the guys that take us to the hard areas.”

Goalie Justin Ennis allowed one goal over his two starts for the 15-Only Blue Jackets, including a shutout in the
title game.

“He was just in control, you know?” Gingher said. “He was just solid, he was composed. He made the easy
saves look easy — and he made a couple timely ones look easy, too, which was great.”

Said Ennis: “The team played phenomenal in front of me. Without their help of opening lanes, blocking shots
and playing physical, we couldn’t have had the outcome we had.

“A shutout was the cherry on top. Our team has been working hard all year to accomplish championships like
these. It took all 20 guys, and I am proud of how our team represented the program this weekend.”

7

Esmark repeats in 18U

For the second consecutive year, the Esmark Stars won the 18U Mid-American championship. Esmark is
headed back to Nationals after a 3-1 win against Gilmour Academy in the title game Sunday.

“I think our expectations are a little bit different this year,” Stars head coach David Kosick said. “We want to go
out there to win it. Not just to enjoy the scenery and be joyous, like, ‘Hey, we made it to Nationals.’ We want to
try to win the tournament.”

Almost half the Esmark roster was part of last season’s run, and a handful of players have played together since
they were crowned 2018 16U Mid-American champions.

 “This is just unbelievable,” said goalie Connor Strobel, who started three of the four wins in the tournament.
“This is what we set our minds to at the beginning of the year. It’s awesome.”

Sunday, the Stars appeared to take a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the game — but the goal was ultimately
waved off.

8

What could have been a disheartening or frustrating weight to carry throughout the championship contest was
largely brushed off by Esmark. An Edward Pazo goal seven minutes later gave the Stars a lead they would not
relinquish.

“We stayed focused,” Kosick said. “It was a spirited game. We have quite a rivalry with [Gilmour].”

Tyler Stewart scored the other two goals of the title game to give him 10 points for the tournament. Dominic
Dezort, Dustin Geregach, Dalton Swartz and Alexander Walker each had two goals over the four-game
weekend for the Stars.

9

Cleveland Barons win 14U

Artem Stepaniants and Neal Bartone scored, Matthew Wiess made 32 saves and the Cleveland Barons 14U
team held on for a 2-1 victory against Pittsburgh Penguins Elite.

“Our team went through a lot of hard times in terms of injuries all year – and they just kept fighting, fighting,
fighting to where at the end of the year, they peaked at the right time and they came here ready to play,” Barons
coach Robert Krosky said. “They came out with a goal this year of getting to districts and winning districts —
and they accomplished it.”

Both Barons goals came in the second period, the latter by Bartone was assisted by Zackary Hoyt. The Barons
were outshot, 10-1, in the third period but a desperate host team could manage only an Ian Emery goal with
3:54 left.

“In today’s game our goaltender, Matthew Wiess, was phenomenal,” Krosky said. “He made some amazing
saves.”

10

Facing a rare deficit, it took all of 23 seconds for Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 16U to not only take the lead
Sunday.

“It definitely was a pretty special [sequence],” the Penguins’ Jackson Morehouse said. “Quick plays to the net,
three quick goals, we got the momentum — and we kind of rode it the rest of the game.”

Anthony Carone, Alexey Yarmulnik and Shawn O’Donnell scored in succession during a 23-second span in an
early second period frenzy that lifted the Penguins to a 6-1 victory over the Sylvania North Stars.

“We try to attack off of goals,” Penguins Elite coach Brian Mueller said. “Those are key moments in games
where we can control momentum swings for hopefully two, three minutes — and today, it worked [within] a
minute.”

Try less than half that, starting with Carone four minutes and 28 seconds into the second. Before the crowd at
the Penguins home rink at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex had even finished celebrating the tying of the
game at one apiece, Yarmulnik gave the Penguins all the offense they would need to win with his goal 14
seconds after Carone’s.

Just in case, though, O’Donnell made it 3-1 just nine seconds later.

“I thought after we got the first one, the kids settled down a little,” said Mueller, whose team had outscored its
opponents 23-0 over their first three games of the tournament. “And we came right back with a faceoff play —
and then were able to get another one that next shift on a faceoff play. So, it was big for us. That was a swing
that changed things and kind of put us on top.”

Five players — captains O’Donnell and Morehouse, assistant captains Austin Oravetz and Carter Schade, and
goalie Andrew Pichora — remain from last year’s national titlists.

“We have all been playing forever it seems,” said Morehouse, a Dartmouth commit. “It’s a special bond, for
sure. To get to win it together last year was extremely special, and I think we’ve got a real good chance to do
again this year, and if we do it that would be the perfect end.”

Morehouse had two goals and five points in the tournament. O’Donnell had five goals, including a third period
tally Sunday. Schade and Oravetz tied for the team lead with eight points throughout the tournament. Oravetz
had a team-best six assists, and Pichora allowed only one goal in playing three of the four games over the
weekend.

But the veteran captains weren’t the only ones who were productive for the Penguins. Nicholas Sewecke scored
his fourth goal of the tournament during the final, Logan Cooley also had four goals and Yarmulnik, Carone,
Johnny Fratto and Arik Altman had multiple-goal tournaments.

“On our team we have not only depth, but we also have many players who can play their role and be the best
possible player in that role,” O’Donnell said. “And over the season we have developed into the team we are
now and got our identity, which is strong defense and relentlessness.”

11

Mueller said it’s not by accident those qualities have shown themselves.

“[The players] work hard, and they like to compete,” Mueller said. “Our practices are hard and abrasive — and
they just love it that way.”

Love it enough that nothing made them happier than to have another month to play together and work as one to
win another national championship.

“We have a real special group this year, and I just hope that I can use my experience from last year’s run to help
us achieve it again,” O’Donnell said. “Going back-to-back would be huge, not only for our team but also to set
a legacy that [Pens Elite] younger players would like to achieve.

Mid-American District Youth Tier I

14U: Cleveland Barons
15-Only: Ohio Blue Jackets
16U: Pittsburgh Penguins Elite
18U: Esmark Stars

By Chris Adamski

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

12

                            State Champions
                          Western Pennsylvania
At the Western Pennsylvania championship, the Pittsburgh Predators were crowned the champion at
18U.

In other action at the Western Pennsylvania championship the Arctic Foxes were crowned at the 16U
level.

13
Wrapping it up in Pittsburgh were the Steel City Renegades being crowned the winner at 14u.

Ohio/ Indiana/West Virginia Finalist
While we understand that the teams listed below were unable to participate in their
respective State Tournament due to the Coronavirus outbreak across our country, the
Mid-Am District would like to take this opportunity to recognize you for your efforts this
season.

18U Ohio                                  16U
Sylvania North Stars                     SISU Thunderbirds
                                         Team Ohio Premier
14U Ohio
Cleveland Jr Lumberjacks ‘06           Columbus Vikings
Columbus Capitals                      Team Ohio
Findlay                                Cleveland Sharks
Gilmour                                Bowling Green

14U Indiana
Indianapolis Junior Fuel
Fort Wayne Force

16U West Virginia                14U West Virginia
Team West Virginia               Team West Virginia

14

      West Virginia Middle School Champions
          Charleston Chiefs of Charleston WV

     Congratulations To Those League Champions