The Pitt D2 Panthers closed out their 2012 – 2013 regular season on Saturday, February 16th, with a 6-1 pasting of IUP on Senior Recognition Night. Seniors Dan Stein, Evan Weinbrenner and Chris Wagner were honored in pre-game ceremonies. The Panthers finished with a regular season record of 17-10 and will head to the Tri-State Collegiate Hockey League playoffs as the 3rd seed. They also set some pretty impressive standards for future squads along the way. For instance:

• On February 2nd, Senior forward Chris Santangelo exploded for 6 goals in a conference game against IUP. The “SixPack” was the most goals scored by a Pitt player in the modern day history of the program, either team.
• Senior Defenseman Mark Clifford set the record for career points (63) by a defenseman at D2.
• Senior Captain Dan Stein set the mark for career goals (70) at D2. The total is second in program history.
• Senior Evan Weinbrenner set a D2 mark for career games played (114) in the ACHA era.

There may also be more to come as Sophomore Goaltender Josh Howell has moved within 5 wins of the D2 career wins mark and 13 wins short of the Pitt program high.

Head Coach Joe Rodella was clear that the departing seniors would be hard to replace. He stated “There are a lot of points and experience leaving with these seniors. They are all productive players. We’ll miss their contributions.” He commented further on the graduation of Captain Dan Stein. Said Rodella, “Dan has been a guy who helped start the turn-around of the D2 program, then stayed to build it. He is a great player and a great teammate. Somebody else will wear the jersey, but for me, #7 will always be Dan”.

These individual marks aside, the D2 Panthers have closed the season with a flourish as they have put up an 11-3 record since being 6-7 in mid-November. They hope to carry the momentum into the TSCHL playoffs as they are slated to play IUP in the 1st round on Friday March 1. Let’s hope that it all results in a banner!

The D2 Panthers, who ended the fall semester with a four game winning streak, return to practice next week to prepare for the upcoming TSCHL schedule. The Panthers closed out the fall schedule in strong fashion as they reeled of victories over Toledo, CCAC, West Virginia, and Rider University. The highlights were the bookends of the streak as the Panthers beat Toledo, the top ranked TSCHL team, 5-2 on the road and Rider, the #8 team in the ACHA Southeast Region, 3-2 at home. The end of the semester also brought Senior Patrick Duffy’s career to a close as he graduated.

The Panthers will open the semester against Pitt-Greensburg on Friday January 11th. Next they will face Akron, Robert Morris, and Ohio University on consecutive weekends. Robert Morris will be the final non-league game on the 2012-2013 schedule. After that, the Panthers see IUP twice in February and a very important 3 game weekend on the road against Cincinnati, Wright State, and Dayton. As it stands, the Panthers are well positioned to make a run to the TSCHL playoffs.

Pitt D1 will face off against Duquesne University in an outdoor game this Sunday at 7:30 pm at Highmark Stadium. The stadium is located at Station Square near the Gateway Clipper Fleet and the Sheraton hotel. Admission is free to all fans. Please come out and support our team in exciting ACHA Division 1 action.