Seneca Valley set to take on Holy Ghost Prep for state hockey title: By the numbers
The big number is two — that would be Class 3A state championships in a row — for Seneca Valley’s boys hockey team. After repeating in the PIHL Class 3A Penguins Cup, coach Tyler Mesisca’s Raiders take on Flyers Cup champion Holy Ghost Prep at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Let’s take a dive into some of the figures that matter the most for Seneca Valley before it tries to prove its statewide superiority once again. The state championship game will be at Ice Line Quad Rinks in West Chester.
Seneca Valley isn’t used to playing from behind. The Raiders have only looked up at opponents for 37:30 of game play all season.
They were behind 1-0 to Fox Chapel on Oct. 16, but the Foxes’ fun only lasted for 2:13 before Seneca Valley responded with the game’s next five goals, including Jacob Gilbert’s late first-period equalizer.
The Raiders faced a two-goal hole for a good portion of their 4-3 win over Pine-Richland on Dec. 15, too. John Sroka III pulled Seneca Valley even in the third period after his team had trailed for 35:17 of game play.
Seneca Valley’s only loss this campaign came via shootout against North Allegheny on Jan. 29.
The Raiders hang their hat on depth, something they’ve certainly shown to have in the scoring department in do-or-die contests.
Braden Morin and Ethan Riffe Jr. have both netted a pair during these playoffs, while Jacob Gilbert, Carter Hoehn, Cooper Hoehn, Carson Lindberg, Owen Martin, Vinci Villella and Sroka have each scored one.
Morin paced Seneca Valley with 15 goals during the regular season, which ranked third in the classification behind Pine-Richland’s Cullen Campbell (20) and Fox Chapel’s Tucker Cullen (18).
Cooper Hoehn (14), Leyton Moreau (11) and Sroka (10) also had double-digit goals for the Raiders. Only Thomas Jefferson matched Seneca Valley with four scorers who had at least 10 goals.
Nichols, a senior goalie, was named to the PIHL Class 3A all-star roster in January. He was tops in the classification during the regular season with a stellar 0.79 goals allowed average and eight shutouts.
As a junior, Nichols had a .949 save percentage in the Penguins Cup tournament.
Fellow seniors Carter Hoehn, Gilbert, Moreau and Sroka were also tapped as all-stars.
