Cam Kiste scored three goals and Robert Thatcher had two, and first-place Penn-Trafford rallied to defeat rival Norwin, 9-2, in PIHL Class 2A action Jan. 14.
Penn-Trafford (12-2-1-1) is on top of the standings with 39 points. Latrobe (12-2-0-1) has played two less games and has 36 points while Fox Chapel (10-2-0-1) is third with 31 points.
Others scoring goals were Mason Driskill, Roman Catello, Drew Hall and Marco Ferraccio.
Kiste finished with two assists and Brock Bienemann added three assists.
Goalkeeper Cason Weishorn made 22 saves.
The Warriors are off until Jan. 30 when they play at Armstrong. The Warriors will look to secure home-ice in the opening round of the playoffs. They finish the regular season with games against Hempfield (Feb. 3), Latrobe (Feb. 10) and Fox Chapel (Feb. 17).
Aiden Drotos leads the team with 14 goals and 15 assists, Bienemann follows with 13 goals and 15 assists, and Kiste has 12 goals and 14 assists.
Thatcher has nine goals and 12 assists, Ferraccio has five goals and 13 assists and Kyler Doran has added two goals and a team-high 16 assists.
Still perfect
With each passing game, the question keeps coming up: Is Penn-Trafford going to lose?
The Warriors (14-0) were one of only three undefeated girls basketball teams through Jan. 15, joining Shady Side Academy (14-0) and Union (12-0).
The Warriors have never finished a regular season undefeated. This is their best start in program history.
They were to begin the second wave of Section 2-5A games Jan. 17 at Greensburg Salem. Obviously, Penn-Trafford went 6-0 in the first half of the section slate.
They won those games by an average of 27.3 points. They also have Plum on the schedule, and they end the regular season on Feb. 8 at 6A No. 1 Upper St. Clair.
Penn-Trafford has only missed the playoffs three times in veteran coach John Giannikas’ 18 seasons and won a WPIAL title in 2013-14.
Warriors fall to FR
Franklin Regional had too many weapons for undermanned rival Penn-Trafford and rolled to a 43-22 victory in a Section 9-3A wrestling match Jan. 15.
Franklin Regional was coming off the team title at the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association tournament, and it looked sharp. There was no letdown for the Panthers.
“We came off a pretty good weekend, and we had a great week of practice,” Franklin Regional coach Matt Lebe said. “We had a good week of training, and we are happy to remain undefeated still in the section. Now we want to move on and get better.”
Penn-Trafford took an early 10-6 lead on consecutive technical falls by Dylan Barrett (114 pounds) and Luke DeSantis (121). Franklin Regional’s points came by forfeit at 107.
Penn-Trafford is hampered because it doesn’t have a 107-pounder and was missing senior Tasso Whipple, who was forced to sit out the match because of a PIAA infraction that occurred at the county tournament. He will be back for the Brookville Ultimate Duals on Saturday.
“We were a little flat,” Penn-Trafford coach Travis McKillop said. “We just need to rebound and come back. We need to continue to improve. Dylan and Luke looked strong, but then we ran into their strength.”
The Panthers won the next six bouts to build a 34-10 lead.
Penn-Trafford got a pin from Logan Matrisch (172) to make it 34-16.
Henry Patts countered P-T’s win with a first-period pin, and P-T’s Ben Grabowski collected a pin at 215.
Eli Daugherty closed the match for the Panthers with a 7-0 victory against Aiden Toth.
Staff writer Bill Beckner Jr. contributed to this report.