Pine-Richland Ice Hockey Team
Captures State Championship.
BY JENNIFER BROZAK
Coaches take to the ice with the Varsity Ice Hockey State trophy. Pictured from (l to r) are George Saad,
Jordan Yoklic and John Hess.
Ice Hockey
Team Members:
Jack Carnavole
Dom Desjardins
Jared Eggert
Joe Folmer
Brandon Kashur (Captain)
Hunter Knobloch
Nick Lindauer
Ben McLeister
Charlie Mill
Nick Monaco (Captain)
Brian Phipps
Alex Rihn
Jordan Rosenbaum
James Saber
Patrick Saber
Danny Stauffer
Will Studt (Captain)
Jack Tyndall
Ian Voit
Richard Wild
Brandon Will
shift. Having four lines, we were able
to do that.”
In the second period, senior captain
William Studt scored, giving the team
a 2-0 lead. “It was so surreal, winning
something that everyone on the team
had been striving for since the summer,”
he says. “Also, having all my friends and
family at the game to be a part of the
experience was really special.”
Studt adds, “Since there were so many
seniors on the team, my role as captain
was really easy. Everyone took their roles
and did them with precision. This made
it so I could focus on what I could do to
help the team win on the ice, but I was
also there for support if anyone needed
anything off the ice.”
While the team has several standout
players who excel in different areas, Yoklic
states that the team’s biggest strength is
the strong bond it shares on and off the
ice. “They work hard every shift and will
always put the team over their individual
play,” he says.
The road leading to the state
championship was a hard-fought one.
While the Rams skated past Hempfield
(8-4) and Greater Latrobe (5-2) in the
early rounds of the playoffs, they found
themselves in a back-and-forth battle for
dominance against Upper St. Clair (7-5)
to capture the Class 2A PIHL Penguins
Cup at the UPMC Lemieux Sports
Complex on March 18.
Studt says that the Penguins Cup
game was his favorite part of the team’s
championship run. The game was fraught
with tension, as the lead swung back and
forth between the two teams, but the
Rams scored their last three goals within
about three minutes in the third period to
clinch the title.
“We went down in the score, but you
could tell by the energy on the team that
we weren’t out of the game,” he explains.
“We were confident that we could come
back and win. Winning a championship
with your best friends is not something
everyone gets to experience and it’s
something that I will surely never forget.”
Yoklic shares that sentiment, albeit
from a different perspective—this is his
first year as head coach after spending
two years as the team’s assistant coach.
“The feeling of winning a state and
PIHL championship is amazing. I’m so
proud as a coach and really excited for
all of the players and families involved,
especially the senior class,” he says.
“They are an amazing group and earned
all of the success this year. Winning a
state title as a player is a tremendous
feeling, but winning as a coach was very
special as well.”
Following the exhilaration of this past
season, it’s not surprising that the Rams
already have their sights set on preparing
for next year. But first, they will celebrate
this year’s accomplishments at a season-
ending banquet on April 28.
“From there,” says Yoklic, “we
will get into 2019-2020 tryouts
and begin building for another
championship run.” ■
» For more information about the Pine-Richland varsity hockey team, visit pinerichlandicehockey.org.
PINE-RICHLAND
❘
SUMMER 2019
17