Boone’s hat trick leads Connellsville over Sewickley
Alex Boone’s hat trick and Sam Denny’s brace was key in Connellsville’s 6-2 victory over Sewickley Academy on Thursday in Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League (PIHL) at CFS Bank Arena in Rostraver Township.
The Falcons improved to 6-0 this season, and are 2-0 in the D2 Gold Division. Connellsville has outscored its opponents, 42-12, in six games this year.
Boone opened the scoring with an even-strength goal at 14:52 of the first period for a 1-0 lead. Mason Mazak and Connor Basinger added the assists.
Denny pushed the Falcons’ advantage to 2-0 on a 5-on-5 tally that was assisted by TJ Snyder with 6:02 left in the opening frame.
The trio of Boone, Mazak and Basinger extended the home team’s edge to 3-0 with 7:03 remaining in the second period on even strength.
Denny netted his second 29 seconds into the third period for a 4-0 lead. Basinger set up the center on the power play.
Boone capped off the hat trick with 11:39 remaining in the contest on even strength. Mazak provided the helper for a 5-0 advantage.
Sam Langer scored back-to-back goals less than two minutes apart to cut the Panthers’ deficit to 5-2 with 5:21 left in the game. His first of two even-strength tallies was unassisted, while Aiden Ferguson and Ethan Smith provided the assists on Langer’s second.
Basinger capped the scoring with a goal while Connellsville was playing with a man advantage with 4:28 remaining in the contest. Presley Overly assisted on Basinger’s tally that restored the Falcons’ four-goal lead.
Connellsville was 2-for-4 on the power play, while its penalty kill denied all four of Sewickley’s power-play opportunities.
The Falcons had a 36-21 advantage in shots on goal. Connellsville goalie Andrew Weir made 19 saves, while the Panthers’ Diesel Dunn stopped 30 shots on target.
The Falcons sit at the top of the table in the Gold Division with 12 points. Burrell is second with a record of 4-0 and eight points. Neshannock is third at 2-1 and six points.
Connellsville heads to Washington County on Tuesday for action in the Gold Division against Trinity (1-2, 3 points) at Printscape Arena at Southpointe in Canonsburg. Puck drop is scheduled for 9 p.m.