In a back-and-forth playoff battle Thursday night, the difference between the Ringgold and Knoch hockey teams was the second period.
While No. 6 Knoch, enjoying one of the best seasons in program history, outscored Ringgold by two goals in the first and the third combined, the No. 3 Rams stormed ahead with three goals in the middle period and did just enough to see out a 5-4 PIHL Division 2 quarterfinal win.
“I think we knew that getting by those first 10 minutes, that was going to be our biggest test there,” Ringgold coach Brady Parkinson said after Knoch dominated the opening minutes of action.
“And then it really was about sustaining pressure. I really felt like we were sustaining pressure most of the game. We didn’t get as many of those golden opportunities as I would like, but we were in the slot area doing what we needed to get the win.
“We didn’t really step off the gas there in the second. Now in the third period, we’ve gotta work on that coming out of a break, but I can’t ask for any more from that second period.”
After Knoch’s Cam Christie slid a rebound home late in the first period, Ringgold’s Nicholas Mahalko picked up a puck that Landon Vaccaro wheeled into the offensive zone and ripped a shot past Brady Helsel with just 44.1 seconds left in the first.
Not only did that goal settle the Rams down, but it allowed them to soar in the second.
“(Mahalko’s goal) was huge for our psyche,” Parkinson said. “You get a late first- or second-period goal, that changes games and changes momentum. That goal changed our belief; I felt it in our team. Getting that late one really shifted the momentum in the game.”
While Ringgold entered the third with a 4-1 advantage, the Knights (11-8-2) fired back with two quick goals to put the pressure on the home side at the CFS Bank Event Center.
When it seemed that the momentum had fully flipped to Knoch, Ringgold came up with a goal two and a half minutes later to settle themselves down and restore a two-goal lead. That proved to be important when Knoch’s Brady Linamen notched his second goal of the game with 10 seconds left, capping off the scoring.
“I thought the way we came out in the third period, knowing we needed three goals, was great. I couldn’t be prouder of the boys,” Knoch coach Nicholas Minton said. “The team came to fight in that third period. They put everything on the line, and that’s all you can ask for.”
The loss concluded a positive campaign for the Knights, one that will benefit the future of the program according to Minton.
“This is the best season that Knoch has had in its history, I think,” he said. “I told the kids, ‘This is going to sting for a day, but be proud of the accomplishments this year.’ It’s the first time we’ve had double-digit wins like we did. … It’s probably the closest-knit group I’ve ever coached.”
With the win, Ringgold (14-4-2) will move on to play No. 2 Neshannock in the semifinals at 9 p.m. March 12 at RMU Island Sports Center. Neshannock has handed Ringgold two of its losses this year.
Knoch started hot, which meant that Ringgold goaltender Mason Ribnicky was called into action early. He opened his save tally early and finished with 27 stops on 31 shots.
One of his best came right after Mahalko rang the crossbar on the other end. A stretch pass from a Knoch blue-liner set up a breakaway for the dangerous Synjun McHattie, and while he later scored a goal, he was stonewalled on his first shot by Ribnicky.
Ringgold eventually started working its way into the game and forcing Helsel into some action, but the Knights struck first when Peyton McIntyre fired a shot on goal that forced Ribnicky to sprawl over to make the save. The goaltender did his job, but Christie was first to the rebound and slid it under Ribnicky before he could get back in position, putting Knoch ahead 1-0 at 12:14.
That goal really woke Ringgold up as the home side went hunting for a response. Vaccaro and Benito Pesi, who finished with two goals, were both turned away by Helsel before Vaccaro earned the helper on Mahalko’s late-period equalizer.
It was all Rams in the second as they got on the board quickly with a power-play marker. Vaughn Shannon set up shop in the slot, and he was rewarded when Anthony Bonari fired a pass to him from behind the net to set up a tap-in goal.
The rest of the period belonged to Pesi as the Rams began to mount pressure in the offensive zone. After he fired in a goal on an assist from Nolan Mosco, Pesi lit the lamp again with a snipe from a bad angle at the bottom of the right faceoff circle to electrify the home crowd and send his squad in front 4-1.
Knoch didn’t go down without a fight as McHattie put the puck in a dangerous area and watched it trickle in to begin the third period. Now trailing by two, Brayden Knauss found Linamen for his first goal of the contest to suddenly cut the deficit to 4-3.
The Rams ultimately grabbed their winning goal from Brady Lippert with 9:25 left to play on assists from Vaccaro and Mahalko. He was able to bat a rebound past Helsel to put Ringgold up two at 5-3.
The Knights got one goal back on the power play when Christie earned an assist on an impressive shot from Linamen, but with only 10 seconds left, the Rams closed out the win and advanced to the semifinals.