Falcons take over first place in PIHL鈥檚 Gold Division
Connellsville scored two goals in the two minutes and 31 seconds, and never looked back in earning an 8-1 victory over Morgantown on Thursday night in a PIHL D2 contest at Hope Gas Ice Pavilion in Morgantown.
The Falcons improved to 6-2-0-0 with 18 points after eight games. Connellsville vaulted Knoch (5-3-1-0, 17 points) for the top spot in the Gold Division. The Mohigans dropped to 3-3-1-1 with 12 points and sit in fourth place in the division standings.
The Falcons return to the ice on Monday against Knoch at Frozen Pond Arena in Valencia. Puck drop is scheduled for 9:10 p.m.
TJ Snyder opened up the scoring with an unassisted goal at even strength for a 1-0 lead with 15:20 remaining in the first period. The Falcons cashed in on the first of three power-play goals when Santo Crucio found the back of the net with 14:29 left in the period and a 2-0 advantage. Hunter Hughes assisted on Crucio’s tally.
Connellsville was 3 for 6 with the man advantage.
Freshman Connor Basinger put in his team-leading fifth goal of the season for a 3-0 lead with 5:50 remaining in the opening frame. Logan Jenkins assisted on Basinger’s even-strength goal. Basinger, who had an assist, leads the team in scoring with nine points.
Morgantown cracked the scoreboard with 2:59 left in the first when Cameron Smith scored on the power play to cut the deficit to 3-1.
The Falcons regained their three-goal edge when Mason Mazak set-up Sam Denny on the power play with seven seconds remaining in the period.
Connellsville extended its lead to 5-1 with 14:47 left in the second period on Riley Denny’s tally at even strength.
Liam King set-up Mazak for a goal and a 6-1 advantage with 13:28 left in the second frame. Basinger’s helper came at 12:56 of the period on Evan Sabatine’s tally.
Goalie Nick Daniels-Nimick got into the scoring action when he set-up Matty Smith on the power play for the Falcons’ final goal with 5:31 left in the second period. Neither team scored in the final frame.
Daniels-Nimick had plenty of support from his team, but the senior made 27 saves. Daniels-Nimick has a goals-against-average of 1.75 and a save percentage of .920 in eight games this season.