Seneca Valley hockey’s Penguins Cup, state title run is Butler County’s top sports story of 2025: ‘It meant a lot’
Winning the second Penguins Cup in program history is certainly cause for a spirited celebration, but the atmosphere inside Seneca Valley’s locker room was a bit tempered after the Raiders defeated South Fayette for the hardware in March.
And for good reason.
SV had survived a triple-overtime marathon against the Lions, with Marshall Hewitt scoring the game-winner in a 3-2 victory at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
“Mentally, the mood was high,” said Andrew Malichky, a senior center and captain on the team. “But physically, we were exhausted. I remember a feeling of relief when I saw that puck go in. Some of us could barely move after that game.”
But before the 2024-25 season began, the Raiders had set a goal of winning a state championship. Would they be able to cap an already great season with a historic victory?
The toll the Penguins Cup final had taken on the Raiders was trumped by a feeling of destiny.
“We felt if we could win that (Pens Cup) in three overtimes, we could win any game,” Malichky said.
Just five days after beating South Fayette, the Raiders faced Holy Ghost Prep from suburban Philadelphia for the Pennsylvania Cup. Led by Braden Morin’s hat trick, SV dominated the Firebirds 7-2 at Robert Morris University’s Island Sports Center.
The Raiders finished the season 19-4, and their run to the first state championship in program history has been voted the Butler Eagle’s top sports story of 2025.
"I grew up in this program and it meant a lot to be part of the team that brought a state title home to Seneca Valley," Malichky said.
Winning a state championship was the fifth goal attained by the Raiders. They had also set out to win and captured the St. Margaret Fall Face-Off preseason tournament and the Pa. Hockey Scholastic Showcase at midseason.
Finishing the regular season with the PIHL’s best record (15-5) checked off another box, though the team entered the postseason after consecutive losses to Central Catholic and North Allegheny.
“Losing back-to-back games was something that we hadn’t done all season, and it served as a wake-up call,” SV head coach Tyler Mesisca said. “It made us hit the reset button.”
Playoff wins over Pine-Richland (3-1) and Upper St. Clair (3-2 in overtime) set up the showdown with South Fayette.
“They were the No. 7 seed but had top-end talent on offense,” Mesisca said of the Lions. “We knew they could be dangerous. And as it turned out, that night was a battle of goalies.”
South Fayette’s Jackson Ankrum stopped an incredible 62 shots, but SV’s Christopher Nichols earned the win with 49 saves.
Nichols’ play, along with a defense led by Carter Hoehn, Tyler Maxwell and Vinci Villella, helped spur SV’s postseason run.
“We didn’t have to score four or five goals every night to win because we really picked things up on the defensive side of things,” Mesisca said.
Balanced scoring was another strength for the Raiders throughout the season, and it continued once the playoffs began. Nine different players scored at least one goal in the four postseason games, and John Sroka joined Morin with scoring three playoff tallies.
Morin paced the Raiders with 15 goals on the season, while Malichky dished out a team-leading 14 assists.
"We were able to get scoring from our third and fourth lines, and that depth is something a lot of other teams didn't have," said Mesisca, a 2010 SV graduate who played on two teams that reached the Penguins Cup final only to lose in overtime in both cases.
“Having played for this program, our run last year means a little more,” he said. “It’s the same with my assistants — Sam Jarrett and Parker Faix — they both played for Seneca, too.
“Between the coaches, players, families ... this sport demands a lot of commitment. I’m proud of the players and grateful for everyone who contributed to what we were able to do.”
