Seven minutes in and North Allegheny was already up on Shaler 8-1. Thirty seconds later, it was 9-1. After only one quarter of play, it was obvious to see why the Tigers have been steamrolling through the opposition and are a legitimate top-three contender for the Division I title.
It's not that Shaler played horrendous, the Tigers were simply terrific. Truly an all-around dominating performance from everyone involved on the NA side. The defense is big and physical with strong stick skills, precision checks and has a knack for quick clears. The offense is explosive, unselfish and constantly in motion causing confusion and plenty of defensive lapses. As a whole, the Tigers have great team speed and tons of depth at seemingly every position.
That's why NA has scored almost 60 points in its last three games. That's why NA is undefeated in the North section of D-I. And that's why NA has all the makings and shows all the signs of a championship caliber club.
It all started with a feed from Anthony Peluso to Dan Wiese for his first of two in the opening quarter to give the Tigers the 1-0 lead. Thirteen seconds later, Jared Yon ripped one by Shaler keeper Kyle Ferarri to make it 2-0. Shaler made it interesting and a 2-1 scoreline when Luke Lynch cut the deficit in half, but that would be the last time the Titans would be in striking distance of a tie game.
It was as if the Shaler goal woke up the sleeping giant that was the NA offensive arsenal. The Tigers responded with an unanswered nine-goal streak with a little over three minutes to play in the half. In the first quarter alone NA found the back of the net seven more times complements of Peluso, Wiese, Yon, Joe Griffin, Ryan Worsena, and Michael Eck twice.
With a 9-1 scoreline heading into the second quarter, NA was comfortable rotating in a handful of reserves to mix with the already impressive starters. The tenth came when Christopher Leasher picked out Ryan Mauro for an easy bouncer by Ferarri. And it took over six minutes of hard work before NA took the ten-point lead after a perfect look from Eck to Worsena who wrapped around the crease and netted an easy layup to go up 11-1.
As bad as the scoreline seemed, Shaler was still as fiesty and physical as it was heading into the opening face-off. The Titans were fearless and as a team, had a number of very athletic players with moments of tremendous ability and agility. Most notably was defender Tim Schreiber who as a long-pole has great footwork, confident stick skills and a noticeable passion for the game. Even during man-advantages, Shaler had great ball movement and took a few decent shots on goal. Despite not earning a result on consecutive man-ups, the Titans power play looked and played a lot better than the Pittsburgh Penguins sure has!
Finally, the persistence paid off with a Shaler goal to end the scoreless streak and make the game 11-2. Roman Benty powered by his man up top, drove to the cage and buried his shot by goalie John Abbondanza. But NA regained the ten-point lead following an Art Stypula goal with 54 seconds left in the half after rolling to his left and sending his shot low and away for an easy score.
Mike Zombeck fed Nick Foglio for the first second half score for the Tigers but Cory MacIeski responded for Shaler to make the game 13-3. NA netted three more in the last five minutes of the third with goals from Foglio, Peck and Wiese. And the Tigers didn't stop there. To open the fourth, Robert Greenler assisted Griffin before Foglio hooked up with Ian Peace for an 18-3 NA romp.
With the game out of reach, Shaler still wanted more. Joe Monahan picked out Lynch for his second of the game and a final Titans goal for an 18-4 score. But NA wanted to hit that 20-mark for the second time in as many games. And the Tigers did just that when Foglio found his hat-trick and Peace netted his second for a final score of 20-4.
North Allegheny (2-0, 7-3) will put its unbeaten section record on the line tonight when it plays host to Shady Side Academy (1-2, 4-5). The Tigers slipped by the Indians last season by an 11-10 scoreline at home.
Shaler (1-3, 1-8) will look to rebound Thursday night against section foe Erie McDowell (3-2, 3-7) at home. Shaler won last seasons meeting between the two sides at home, 13-9.
Tuesday non-section
Baldwin 11, Fox Chapel 10
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