Bishop Canevin defeats Neshannock in rematch of PIHL championship game

Dec. 13—NEW CASTLE — The special teams weren't too special for the Neshannock hockey team Monday night. Bishop Canevin took advantage of uneven numbers and beat the Lancers 8-4 at Hess Ice Rink in New Castle.

The Crusaders (10-0-0) swept Neshannock this season after losing to the Lancers in the state final last season. Neshannock lost to Bishop Canevin 4-3 in a shootout on the road earlier in the season.

The Crusaders scored two shorthanded goals and went 4 for 4 on the power play Monday night.

"We knew we were up against a really strong opponent. A team we beat in the championship last year,," Neshannock head coach Mark Multari said. "They're returning a lot of their players. We knew we had to stay out of the penalty box. Our guys let their emotions get the best of them and we were playing shorthanded."

The Lancers (6-1-2) played without starting goalie Gavin Renick — a Grove City senior — and defenseman Matt Ioanilli. Renick suffered an injury and is expected to miss several weeks while Ioanilli was injured in a hunting accident earlier this month.

Tripp Johns started in the crease for Neshannock and stopped 22 of 30 shots.

His counterpart, Ayden Worstell, finished with 24 saves.

"Tripp did good. That's on us," Hickory's Zander Telesz said. "Down a couple guys, we're fighting through adversity right now. We just gotta be a better team. We gotta work harder."

The Crusaders got on the board first after they were called for hooking. Ty Serakowski scored off a steal and an assist from Nathan Covato for a shorthanded goal 8:57 into the first period.

After Neshannock's Kent Jones III was called for a minor penalty, Ryan Saginaw found the back of the net off a pass from Ben Ondrejko with 21.5 seconds left in the opening period.

Bishop Canevin scored another powerplay goal 2:04 into the second period. But the Lancers got on the board with an unassisted goal by Briann McConahy less than a minute later to make it a 3-1 Crusaders lead.

That set off a quick series of scores for both teams. The Crusaders scored back-to-back goals for a 5-1 lead. But Neshannock countered with an odd-man rush that resulted in a goal by John Moniodes off passes from Grove City's Sebastian Renick and Jones. Less than 40 seconds later, Nick Bucci forced a turnover and picked up an assist on a Giovanni Valentine goal.

The Crusaders extended the lead to 6-3 after Bucci was called for a crosscheck, which led to a Ondrejko score off a dish from Saginaw to end the second period.

Eion Tiernan added a Crusaders goal off an assist from Cole Evan.

Neshannock countered with a steal from Marcello Cerasi, who scored on the face off against goalkeeper Ayden Worstell to make it a 7-4 Crusaders lead.

Serakowski found the net for his second shorthanded goal of the night with 5:15 left to play in the third period to cap the scoring.

Multari said the strength of his two championship teams were the power play units. That group has struggled to build chemistry early in the season.

"If the game is 5-on-5, we win the game," Multari said. "We outscored them 5-on-5, but we have to be more disciplined, more focused, and our guys gotta get more hungry."