Ringgold’s Bujdos earns Player of the Year honors
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Ringgold’s Brad Bujdos (62) moves the puck behind the Elizabeth Forward net as he is checked by the Warriors’ Raiden Medved (58) during the first period of a PIHL Class B South Division game at Rostraver Ice Garden on Feb. 3. Bujdos earned Player of the Year honors on the inaugural Herald-Standard All-Area Hockey team after scoring 35 goals and finishing with 65 points in 20 games.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Elizabeth-Forward’s Michael Vasko sets up the offense behind his net during the PIHL Class B Division semifinal against Ringgold on March 9 at the RMU Island Sports Center. Vasko earned first-team honors on the inaugural Herald-Standard All-Area Hockey Team.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Ringgold goalie Jerry Mease directs a shot away from the net during the Rams’ PIHL Class B Division quarterfinal game against Wilmington at Rostraver Ice Garden on March 2. Mease took over goaltending duties after Chad DeGroen was injured and carried the Rams to the Class B title game to earn first-team honors on the inaugural Herald-Standard All-Area Hockey Team.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Ringgold’s Hunter Suarez settles the puck down behind his net during the Rams’ PIHL Class B Division semifinal against Elizabeth Forward on March 9 at the RMU Island Sports Center. Suarez was one of two defensemen to earn first-team honors on the inaugural Herald-Standard All-Area Hockey Team.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Connellsville’s Milan Deffibaugh (4) is checked by Bishop Canevin’s Nate Stofesky during a PIHL Class B Division game played on Jan. 30 at The Ice Mine. Deffibaugh received honorable mention recognition on the inaugural Herald-Standard All-Area Hockey Team.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Elizabeth Forward goalie Billy Siemon deflects the puck with his blocker during the first period of the Warriors’ PIHL Class B South Division game on Feb. 3 against Ringgold at the Rostraver Ice Garden.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Elizabeth Forward’s Chase Glunt (36) pins Ringgold’s Ryan Marek to the boards in the second period of the PIHL Class B Division semifinal playoff game at RMU Island Sports Center on March 9. Marek earned honorable mention recognition on the inaugural Herald-Standard All-Area Hockey Team.
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Elizabeth Forward’s Chase Glunt chases down the puck after Ringgold goalie Jerry Mease turned aside his shot during the PIHL Class B Division semifinal played on March 9 at the RMU Island Sports Center. Mease earned the nod as the area’s top goalie on the Herald-Standard All-Area Hockey Team.
The Ringgold hockey team hopes to have one more hockey game in the 2019-20 season, but as the days wind down the PIHL Class B Division championship against Carrick is becoming more and more unlikely to happen.
But, should the title game be played at the UPMC Lemiuex Sports Complex on some future date, the Rams’ Brad Bujdos will certainly be on the minds of the Carrick coaching staff.
The Ringgold senior finished with a league-high 32 goals and 61 points in the regular season, and added three goals and an assist in two playoff games to earn Player of the Year honors on the inaugural Herald-Standard All-Area Hockey Team.
Ringgold’s Rick Kalinowski and his staff are honored as the Coaching Staff of the Year after leading the Rams back to the league championship and a 17-0-0-1 regular season.
The Rams’ Evan Eberlein and Elizabeth Forward’s Michael Vasko join Bujdos on the first-team to provide a potent top line.
Vasko was second in Class B scoring with 31 goals and 53 points in 18 regular season games, adding one goal and three more assists in the playoffs. Eberlein was third in the league with 19 goals and 50 points, with an additional goal and four assists in two playoff games.
The top line of the all-area team totaled 85 goals and 90 assists for 175 points, an average of nearly nine points a game over the 20 regular season and playoff games.
The Ringgold defensive pair of Hunter Suarez and Clayton Colecchi anchor the blue line as the first-team defensemen.
The duo also provided some offensive pop with Suarez 28th in the league in scoring with eight goals and 22 points over 16 games in the regular season and two assists in the playoffs. Colecchi also netted eight goals, assisting on 12 others, and adding an assist in the playoffs.
Manning the nets is the Ringgold goaltending duo of Jerry Mease and Chad DeGroen.
DeGroen, a senior, was the man in the nets for the Rams until injuries suffered in an automobile accident in mid-January sidelined him through the regular season and into the playoffs. DeGroen posted a 9-0 record with a 2.67 goals against average. He allowed 25 goals in 478 minutes of action with a save percentage of .872.
Mease took over duties in February and posted an 8-1 overall record, including a 4-1 record in the final month and two playoff wins. The lone loss was a 3-2 overtime defeat to Carrick in the regular season finale.
The freshman goalie had a 2.30 goals against average in the regular season, allowing 20 goals in just over 444 minutes of action with a save percentage of 868. He allowed seven goals in two playoffs games, including five in the Rams’ 6-5 overtime win over Elizabeth Forward in the semifinals.
The honorable mention forwards should keep the offense flowing.
The Rams’ Justin Day, Nathan Todd and Ethan Saylor finished in the top 10 in scoring in the regular season.
Day was fifth with eight goals and 34 assists in 18 games, with an additional three goals and four assists in the playoffs. Todd tied Day with 42 points, but netted 24 goals in his 18-game total. He had three goals and two assists in the playoffs. Saylor was ninth in scoring with 38 points (14 goals, 24 assists) in 18 regular season games, but did not total any playoff points.
Ringgold’s Zach Kalinowski, a junior, was 19th in the league in scoring with 15 goals and 13 assists in 16 regular season games. He added a goal and assist in the playoffs.
Tayte Donovan provided a nice 1-2 offensive punch for Elizabeth Forward, finishing 10th in scoring with 19 goals and 15 assists in 18 games. He scored two goals and had an assist in the playoffs.
Connellsville’s top two scorers, Milan Deffibaugh and Timmy Pisula, provide solid depth upfront. Deffibaugh finished 27th in the league with 13 goals and nine assists in 18 games. Pisula, who advanced to the PIAA Class AA western golf regional in the fall, scored six goals and assisted on 10 others in 16 games.
Ringgold’s Nathan Boulanger and Elizabeth Forward’s Chase Glunt vie for the last opening on the wing.
Boulanger, a sophomore, scored more goals in two playoff games (5) than in 10 regular season games (4), but his final three were arguably the most important goals of the season for the Rams. The first two goals of his hat trick forced overtime in the semifinals against the Warriors, and then Boulanger sent Ringgold back to the title game with his overtime goal in the 6-5 victory.
Glunt scored five goals and had 11 assists in 18 regular season games, and added an assist in the playoffs.
The rest of the defensive corps provides solid play at the blue line and a little pop on the scoresheet.
Ringgold’s Ryan Marek, a senior from Belle Vernon, is a big body and had a scoring touch to finish 28th in the league with 22 points (8 goals, 4 assists) in 16 games.
Elizabeth Forward’s Jake Provident, like Marek, is a feisty defenseman (at times, a little too feisty), who scored four goals and had 11 assists in the regular season. He nearly matched his regular season output with three goals in the playoffs. Teammate Lucas Kearns finished with 12 points (2 goals, 10 assists) in 17 regular season games and added four more assists in the playoffs.
Connellsville’s Luke Wascak closes out the honorable mention players on defense. The senior captain anchored the Falcons’ defense, finishing with 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists).
Connellsville’s Alex Mitchell provides a capable back-up netminder as the honorable mention goalie. The sophomore posted a 3.55 goals against average and a save percentage of .874. He allowed 64 goals on 509 shots in 18 games.
Elizabeth Forward sophomore Billy Siemon played every minute of every game in goal, but was edged for the final goalie spot by Mitchell. He allowed over five goals a game (92 goals on 545 shots) in the regular season and nearly 3½ goals a game in the playoffs.
Elizabeth Forward’s John Zeiler and Connellsville’s Ray Brown also merit recognition for the jobs they did this season.
The Warriors returned after a one-season hiatus under Zeiler’s guidance and finished third in the South Division with a 10-7-0-1 record and advanced to the semifinals.
Brown and his staff fell one point shy of fourth place and a playoff berth despite the loss of several key players to graduation, including the top three scorers (Ryan Brown, Gregory Hensh and Michael McKitrick) and goalie Sebastian Skarzenski.