Club teams look for strong finishes to seasons

Men’s Rugby — Two weekends ago, the Panthers traveled to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the… Men’s Rugby — Two weekends ago, the Panthers traveled to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the Midwest playoffs. The team, with seniors making up nearly half the roster, had high hopes going into the 16-team tournament.

“We won it last year and played in the Final Four, so we had high expectations,” senior captain Andrew Kneisly said. “We were the No. 1 seed, and everyone was gunning for us.”

The Panthers cruised to a first-round victory over Loyola University, 53-10, on Oct. 30. The Panthers would be upset on Halloween, as they were defeated by eventual runner-up Bowling Green State, 12-7.

Bowling Green, which had already defeated No. 8-seed Ohio before playing Pitt, was upset-minded the entire weekend. The ninth-seeded Falcons defeated the top team and No. 5-seed Northern Iowa before losing to the eventual champion, Michigan.

Pitt rugby concluded its fall season with a regular season record of 6-2. Kneisly said that he and his fellow seniors are looking for one shot at the title in the spring semester.

Men’s Roller Hockey — The club roller hockey team skates two teams at the intercollegiate level: a Division I team and a second, “developmental” team. Both teams saw action two weekends ago in Williamsport, Pa., for a weekend of games at the Williamsport YMCA’s Pickelner Arena.

The Division I team finished the weekend 0-1-2, losing its first game to Penn State and then rallying to tie its final two games against Delaware and SUNY Buffalo.

The developmental, or B team went 3-1 over the weekend. Their only loss came to Penn State, as they won against the B-teams of Delaware, SUNY Buffalo and Rochester IT.

After these games, the Division I team is 42nd in the nation, while the B team is ranked No. 11 in the country at its level. The two teams will hit the road again for another weekend of games Dec. 3-5 in Harrisburg, Pa.

Division II Men’s Ice Hockey — The Panthers were in dire need of a win when Toledo skated into town last Friday. They had not won in nearly a month and had been outscored in their last five games 31-10.

Freshman Mike Barakat had seen enough.

Barakat, a forward from Montreal, scored his first collegiate hat trick as the Panthers defeated the Rockets 4-2.

Head coach Tom Rieck felt the Rockets were a team that Pitt needed to beat, because a conference loss would have really hurt his team’s chances for a playoff run.

“We needed that win,” Rieck said. “Anytime you go against someone you know you should beat, and they’re in your division, it’s a must-win.”

Less than 24 hours after their victory, the Panthers were back on the ice. This time, they were on the road and faced a much tougher opponent in Division I West Virginia. In Morgantown, W.Va., the Mountaineers struck first with two first-period goals.

Pitt was held scoreless until midway through the second period, when senior Mike King scored his team-high seventh goal of the season. However, that was the only time the Panthers lit the lamp the entire night, and they fell 4-1.

“We played well, but we just couldn’t capitalize on their mistakes the way they capitalized on ours.,” Rieck said after the loss. “Until we can limit our mistakes and exploit our opponents’ mistakes, it will be hard to win games.”

The Panthers will be looking to rebound with a big win when rival IUP visits Pitt this Saturday at 8 p.m.

Division III Men’s Ice Hockey– The Panthers’ Division III hockey team displayed its depth in a 3-3 tie against West Virginia’s Division II team. With their leading goal-scorer out because of an injury, freshman Luke Heller stepped into the wing on the first line with big skates to fill.

He filled them with no problem, scoring his first two goals of the season and collecting an assist on another.

Heller fit right in with his new line-mates, and for good reason: He, his older brother — senior captain Ty Heller — and another line-mate, Zach Cain, were all once Kittanning Wildcats.

“They all played really well,” head coach Toki Barron said. “Although the three of them are in different classes, they all played in the same system for a very good local high school program. They definitely had a little extra chemistry out there.”

With three ties and three losses in their last six games, the Panthers are looking for their second win of the season when they take on IUP at home on Friday at 8 p.m.