A five-game slate Wednesday night kicks off a busy week of Central Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League play, and Tier 2 grabs the spotlight with a battle between two streaking teams.
Second-place Hempfield (12-1-0, 24 points) sits just ahead of third-place Lower Dauphin (11-2-0, 22 points) in the division standings. Both squads remain within striking distance of front-running Lampeter-Strasburg (13-1-0, 26 points), so neither side wants to give any ground when the clubs play at 7 p.m. game Wednesday at Klick Lewis Arena in Palmyra.
The Black Knights enter the game having won seven straight outings. Head coach Kenny Rose’s squad is paced by senior forward Drew Bievenour, whose 44 points (25 goals, 19 assists) rank second in the tier. Senior goalie Kollin Brakefield has three shutouts to go along with his 1.88 goals-against average.
Coach Shaun Kroeck's Falcons are equally hot, having ripped off six consecutive victories. Senior defenseman David Schindler leads Lower Dauphin with 31 points on 20 goals and 11 assists. Junior goalie Josh Bacon (7-0-0) has yet to lose and enters play Wednesday with a 1.86 GAA.
The two rivals last met on Nov. 22, when the Falcons rallied for three third-period goals in a 3-2 victory at Lancaster Ice Rink. Junior defenseman Sean Patt sparked the comeback with two goals just 20 seconds apart, and junior defenseman Zach Rowe netted the winning goal with 4:50 remaining.
Another game to keep an eye on this week comes in Tier 1, where division-leading Cumberland Valley (12-1-0, 24 points) faces second-place Hershey (9-4-0, 18 points) at 8 p.m. Monday at Twin Ponds West in Mechanicsburg.
The Eagles walloped the Trojans 9-2 in the season opener on Nov. 1, part of Hershey’s 0-3 start. Coach Jarrod Hill’s club – the defending Bears Cup champion – rebounded by winning its next eight games before suffering a 5-4 loss to Wilson this past Friday night.
Cumberland Valley senior forward Tristan Enck continues to lead all Tier 1 players in goals (23) and points (38) and shares the assist lead with 15. Hershey freshman Aaron Dobrolsky (7-1-0) tops all goalies in the division in GAA (2.30) and SvP (.914).
Here’s the full CPIHL varsity slate for the next seven days:
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES: Tier 1: Cumberland Valley vs. Wilson at Twin Ponds West, 8 p.m.; Cedar Crest vs. Manheim Township at Klick Lewis Arena, 8:45 p.m. Tier 2: Lower Dauphin vs. Hempfield at Klick Lewis Arena, 7 p.m.; Manheim Central vs. Warwick at Lancaster Ice Rink, 9 p.m. Tier 3: Penn Manor vs. Susquehannock at Lancaster Ice Rink, 7:30 p.m.
FRIDAY’S GAMES: Tier 1: Palmyra vs. Cumberland Valley at Klick Lewis Arena, 7 p.m.; Dallastown vs. Cedar Crest at York City Ice Arena, 8:30 p.m. Tier 2: Lampeter-Strasburg vs. Central Dauphin at Lancaster Ice Rink, 7 p.m.; Annville-Cleona vs. Red Land at Klick Lewis Arena, 8:45 p.m.; Warwick vs. Lower Dauphin at Lancaster Ice Rink, 8:45 p.m. Tier 3: Susquehanna Township vs. Penn Manor at Twin Ponds East, 8:45 p.m.; Carlisle vs. Susquehannock at Twin Ponds West, 9 p.m.
MONDAY’S GAMES: Tier 1: Wilson vs. Palmyra at Body Zone, 7:15 p.m.; Cumberland Valley vs. Hershey at Twin Ponds West, 8 p.m. Tier 2: Red Land vs. Warwick at Twin Ponds East, 7:30 p.m.; Hempfield vs. Central Dauphin at Lancaster Ice Rink, 8:15 p.m.; Lower Dauphin vs. Manheim Central at Klick Lewis Arena, 8:45 p.m. Tier 3: West York vs. Middletown at York City Ice Arena, 8 p.m.
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