‘Focused’ Rams advance to Class B semifinals

By JOSE NEGRON

jnegron@yourmvi.com

Ringgold head coach Rick Kalinowski admits he experiences some jitters prior to every game. 

Those nerves intensify as the games get bigger and the stakes get higher. 

The same can’t be said about Kalinowski’s Rams. 

“I’ve never seen them more focused,” the veteran coach said prior to Monday night’s playoff opener against Avonworth. “They look ready.”

Despite some early struggles, top-seeded Ringgold looked as prepared as advertised in a 5-2 victory over the No. 8 Antelopes in the quarterfinals of the PIHL Class B playoffs at the Ice Castle in Castle Shannon. 

“That’s the best team we’ve played all year long,” Kalinowski said. “We’re not 100% there yet. We had some good moments, but we didn’t play a full, entire game.” 

Hunter Hodgson broke a scoreless tie with 5:30 remaining in the second period before Ethan Saylor added a marker less than a minute later to give the Rams (17-0-1) a 2-0 lead. Trent Hawk, Zach Kalinowski and Nathan Boulanger added third-period tallies. 

Hodgson, who scored just one goal in 13 regular-season games, raced past the left wing circle and rifled a shot past Avonworth goaltender Ben Korol to finally help the Rams break through on the scoreboard. 

Ringgold held a 16-5 shot advantage after one period and a 34-9 edge after two, but struggled to cash in prior to Hodgson’s power-play tally. 

“Hunter’s goal changed the momentum completely for us,” Kalinowski said. “I was ready to yell at him for skating the puck all the way down, but he hit the corner and I couldn’t be mad at him for that.” 

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