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Saturday, February 15, 2025, TRIB-LIVE
For Fox Chapel hockey coach Ryan Loebig, January is an important month in the season.
In his experience, how a team plays in that month is a harbinger of how successful they will be in the playoffs.
Going into the final game of the month on Jan. 30 at Latrobe, the Foxes were on a six-game winning streak and hadn’t lost since Dec. 23.
“Each game we’ve built upon something different and continued to coalesce as a group,” said Loebig. “It’s great to win games, and it instills a confidence our guys need.”
The matchup was a battle for first place in Class 2A as the Foxes came in with 40 points and Latrobe with 39.
Fox Chapel (15-2-1, 46 points) came away with a 5-2 win on Latrobe’s senior night at Kirk Nevin Arena in a game that had a playoff-type feel.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen that arena so packed,” said Loebig. “That’s what we will encounter in the playoffs: playing a very good team in an environment where there’s a lot of emotion. That’s crucial experience to have and we responded well.”
Senior Dominic Casile scored the only goal in the first period to give the Foxes an early advantage. Sophomore Tucker Cullen and junior Hayden Ferra found the net in the second while senior Liam Wiseman scored a power-play goal and junior Spencer Goehring buried an empty netter.
Closing out January with a 7-0 record, the Foxes looked to continue their winning streak against Armstrong on Feb. 10.
Again, it was the same script as Casile found the net in the first, Cullen scored a shorthanded goal in the second and the Foxes exploded for five in the third.
“Sometimes when pucks don’t go in, you can get frustrated and panic, but I wanted to see how our guys responded,” said Loebig. “Winning seven in a row built confidence in our guys and their game, which they stuck to and we blew the doors open in the third.”
In the third, Casile scored a power-play goal and Cullen added two more for the hat trick while Wiseman scored on the power play and Ferra added another shorthanded goal for the 7-2 win.
The Foxes have outscored their opponents 110-50 this season. Forty of those goals have come in the first period, while 38 have come in the third.
Offensively, the Foxes have been driven by Cullen and Casile. Cullen leads the team in points with 57 (27 goals, 30 assists) and Casile leads the team in goals with 30 to go with 23 assists.
Ferra has 27 points (13g, 14a) and Wiseman has scored 11 goals and has 11 assists.
Senior defenseman Trip Goehring is third on the team in points (33) and has scored five goals.
Loebig enjoys the offensive production but knows it’s a byproduct of the style and structure his team plays with.
“Our guys understand that puck possession is gold because it means the other team doesn’t have it,” Loebig said. “It sounds so simple, but it’s so crucial. Strong puck management and strong defensive zone play is going to be critical the rest of the season and into the playoffs.”
The Foxes also have the luxury of having a strong goaltending depth chart with juniors Xing Carlough, Miles Carey and Grant Watson.
Carey has seen the bulk of playing time and has a 1.73 goals-against average and .927 save percentage in 16 games played. Watson has seen action in 15 games and holds a .863 save percentage, and Carlough, who got the win against Armstrong has a save percentage of .861.
That’s been the leading reason why the Foxes are second in Class 2A in goal differential (plus-60). They play sound hockey, looking to win their own defensive zone first before advancing into the neutral and offensive zones.
It’s a formula that helped them beat Penn-Trafford earlier in the year with a rematch set for Feb. 17.
The game will also feel like a playoff game as the Warriors look to end the Foxes’ eight-game winning streak and Fox Chapel looks to claim first place and the top seed for the playoffs.
“Penn-Trafford brings it in every zone, and it won’t be easy for us anywhere on the ice,” said Loebig. “Winning battles in every zone will be magnified, and it’s going to be critical. But it will also be another fun test and we’re looking forward to another chance to learn.”
To end the regular season, Fox Chapel will host Bishop McCort on Feb. 27 and will look to shore up any details before the playoffs start.
Loebig also wants his players to continue to have the right mindset. His team has been dominant all year, and they have the skill and structure to make a deep playoff run, but he wants to make sure they walk that fine line between cockiness and confidence.
“We haven’t lost a game in a long time, and that’s great, but we could at any moment,” Loebig said. “We need to make sure we’re going into the postseason with a certain humility, and the reality is that any team can beat you on a given night. Last year, the one seed in Class 2A got upset by the eight seed. There’s no reason it can’t happen again.”
The playoffs are always a different game as teams become more defensive and open ice becomes a premium as teams are trying not to make mistakes that could lead to goals.
Asked if he’s worried that the Foxes potent offense could struggle, Loebig didn’t seem too concerned.
“It’s possible, but I think we have the faculties to put up a lot of offense and to keep the puck out of our net,” said Loebig. “If you take a couple of goals off the board, I think we’ll be OK. As long as we have that confidence and commit to playing defense first, I think we’re ready for any variation of the game that we could face.”