As February switches into March, the playoffs for winter high school sports starts to heat up. A sport no one seems to cover is Inline Hockey.  Seneca Valley’s High School Inline Hockey program put up 5 teams in the 5 divisions this year, and they have all entered the playoffs.

The league works in tiers; there are tiers 2-5 and there is Varsity. The lower the tier number, the better the skill of the team is.

The tier 5 team had a decent season for the first time this team has played together. Their overall record was 6 -10, and 1 overtime loss. This team was put together for the future; these players will learn how to play well together and be a solid team in the future. Christian Ehrman lead the team with 36 points. Unfortunately, the team lost 6-2 in their first round match-up with North Allegheny.

The tier 4 team didn’t have the season they wanted. Seniors Josh Veon and Ronald Darak each had a great year, but their journey was cut short. The Butler Golden Tornados eliminated them in their first round meeting. Chris Verbanic led the team with 14 points.

The tier 3 team certainly lived up to the potential that they had going into the season. In a tough division, Seneca finished with a 11-6-1 record and placed 5th. The Raiders got past the first round with a 9 goals and an Andrew Bachik hat-trick against Chartiers Valley. The very next day, they faced the first placed Upper Saint Clair. The Raiders were down 4-1 with 3 minutes to go in the third when Connor Patrick and Ryan Pityk both scored to make it 4-3. USC held on for the win, but the Raiders didn’t go down without a fight. Team captain Alex Restauri led the team with 31 points.

The tier two team was entirely made up of freshmen and sophomores. This team was in the second best division in Western Pennsylvania; this is unheard of for a team this young. The team had a great regular season, going 9-7-2. The team fell short in a heart breaker against North Hills in the first round of the playoffs. Dylan Frazier led the team with 25 points, and big shout out to defensemen Tyler Mitchell and Brandon Brubach who each had great seasons.

Seneca’s Varsity team, unlike the other teams, is still going strong. Seneca placed second in their division with a 15-4 record, only behind Hempfield who was undefeated until their game one loss to Canon Mac. SV beat Baldwin in the first round and swept past Penn Trafford in the second round to advance to the championship.

We will find out who Seneca will play this coming weekend as they will play the deciding game three. As of now, Shane Moniot leads the team with 40 points, and Ian Morgan is playing some outstanding goal tending through the playoffs.