Colonial Division Welcomes Steel City and Susquehanna in Eventful Day at Yellow Breeches

NEW CUMBERLAND, PA — Two weeks after the PIHA Minor Colonial Division opened its 2026-27 season in Rockville, the division reconvened Saturday, October 17, at Yellow Breeches Sports Center for the second of its three in-division events.

This time, the Colonial Division was finally complete.

The event marked the season debut for the division's final two teams, with the Steel City Shockwave entering PIHA competition and the hometown Susquehanna Scream taking the floor for the first time this season.

Both made an immediate impact.

Susquehanna finished its opening weekend 3-1, earning a pair of one-goal victories over Philly Frostbite and another against Steel City. The Shockwave went 2-1-1, earning its first PIHA victory against Frostbite before closing the night with a dramatic shootout win over SK Marple.

Marple also finished the day 2-1-1, while Philly Frostbite went 1-2-1 and picked up its first victory of the season.

Across eight games, Yellow Breeches delivered close finishes, overtime drama, a shootout and several huge individual performances as the Colonial Division moved another step deeper into its regular-season schedule.

Game-by-Game Recap

Susquehanna Scream 5, Philly Frostbite 4

The hometown Scream didn't need long to collect the first victory in team history.

Susquehanna and Philly traded four goals in the opening half before the Scream scored three times in the second to come away with a 5-4 win.

Cody Helwig introduced himself to the division with a hat trick and an assist, scoring twice in the opening half and completing the hat trick late in the second. Erik Balthaser assisted on four of Susquehanna's five goals, while Danny Nguyen and Ian Meiskey also scored.

Philly received two goals from Dan Rock, with Anthony Mancino and Nick Bruno adding one apiece.

Jarrett Snare stopped 14 of 18 shots to earn the victory in Susquehanna's first game of the season.

SK Marple Gladiators 4, Steel City Shockwave 3 — Overtime

Steel City's PIHA debut nearly ended with a victory before Marple staged one of the day's best comebacks.

Following a scoreless first half, Steel City scored the first three goals of the second. Ryan Galis opened the scoring on the power play before Nate Loughner scored twice, giving the Shockwave a 3-0 advantage.

The Gladiators responded over the final minutes.

Casey Forte scored twice, including the tying goal with just five seconds remaining, while John Bright added another to force overtime.

Bright then struck again in the extra period, with Don Susini recording his second assist of the game, completing Marple's comeback and giving the Gladiators a 4-3 victory.

Both goaltenders finished with 10 saves as Steel City earned an overtime point in its first PIHA game.

Steel City Shockwave 5, Philly Frostbite 2

Steel City didn't have to wait long for its first victory.

The Shockwave responded from the overtime loss by building a 3-1 first-half lead against Frostbite and adding two more goals after the break.

Nate Loughner recorded a hat trick, while Ryan Galis scored twice and added an assist. Nick Pilotti contributed two assists.

Anthony Mancino scored both Philly goals, but Steel City goaltender Jesse Koewacich stopped eight of 10 shots as the Shockwave earned their first PIHA win, 5-2.

SK Marple Gladiators 7, Susquehanna Scream 3

The hometown Scream appeared poised for a second straight victory after building a 3-2 halftime lead, but Marple completely changed the game in the second half.

Susquehanna received two first-half goals from Cody Helwig and another from Jay Mazer.

Then the Gladiators took over.

Marple scored five unanswered goals in the second half, with Don Susini finishing the game with four goals. Casey Forte scored twice, Johnny Miller added a goal, and Jack Phelan recorded three assists.

Tommy Molloy stopped 10 of 13 shots as Marple pulled away for the 7-3 victory.

Philly Frostbite 4, SK Marple Gladiators 2

Frostbite entered its third game still searching for its first win of the season and finally broke through.

Andy Hedash and Dan Rock scored just five seconds apart early in the opening half to give Philly a quick 2-0 lead.

Anthony Mancino extended the advantage with a second-half power-play goal before Marple began to push back. Michael Marconi scored twice for the Gladiators, both assisted by Jack Phelan, but Philly had already built enough separation.

Adam Ricci added an empty-net goal and Tyler Gilbert stopped 19 of 21 shots, helping Frostbite secure the 4-2 victory.

Susquehanna Scream 3, Steel City Shockwave 2

The two newcomers met head-to-head in a tightly contested game that wasn't decided until the closing seconds.

Steel City's Jeff Werner scored the only goal of the opening half, but Danny Nguyen answered early in the second to tie the game.

Erik Balthaser scored on the power play to give Susquehanna its first lead before Nate Loughner answered for Steel City.

With the teams tied 2-2 and only 28 seconds remaining, Cody Helwig scored the game-winner, assisted by Jay Mazer.

Jarrett Snare stopped 14 of 16 shots as the Scream improved to 2-1 in their debut event.

Susquehanna Scream 6, Philly Frostbite 5 — Overtime

Susquehanna and Philly saved an even wilder rematch for later in the afternoon.

The Scream carried a 4-3 lead into halftime behind two goals from Cody Helwig and one each from Jay Mazer and Josh Zweizig.

Philly refused to go away.

Dan Rock scored twice, while Anthony Mancino, Mason Moyer and Adam Ricci also found the net as Frostbite eventually tied the game at five and forced overtime.

That's when Brian Yingling took over.

Yingling had already scored in the second half before delivering the overtime winner, completing a two-goal, one-assist performance and giving Susquehanna a 6-5 victory.

Michael Sherman made 14 saves in the Scream net as the hometown club completed its first PIHA event with a 3-1 record.

Steel City Shockwave 6, SK Marple Gladiators 5 — Shootout

The final game of the evening provided a fitting ending to a day filled with close hockey.

Marple jumped ahead 3-1 in the first half on goals from Casey Forte, Scott Fuchs and Dan Colombaro.

The Gladiators eventually stretched the lead to 5-2 in the second behind goals from Jack Phelan and Michael Marconi.

Then Steel City mounted a remarkable comeback.

Ryan Galis scored three times over the closing portion of the second half, including two goals with the extra attacker in the final 1:13, tying the game 5-5 with just 25 seconds remaining.

Galis finished the game with four goals.

After overtime failed to produce a winner, the game went to a shootout. Marco DeLisi converted Steel City's attempt, while Jack Phelan was unable to answer for Marple, giving the Shockwave a dramatic 6-5 victory.

Jesse Koewacich made 17 saves for Steel City, while Tommy Molloy turned aside 21 shots for Marple.

The win gave Steel City a 2-1-1 record in its first PIHA event.

Individual Standouts

Cody Helwig — Susquehanna Scream

Few players could have asked for a better start to a new season.

Helwig powered the hometown Scream with eight goals and two assists for 10 points over four games.

He opened with a hat trick and an assist against Philly, scored twice against Marple, recorded a goal and an assist against Steel City — including the late game-winner — and scored twice more in the overtime rematch with Frostbite.

Helwig scored in all four games and played a major role in Susquehanna's 3-1 opening weekend.

Ryan Galis — Steel City Shockwave

Galis made an immediate impact for Steel City, finishing the club's first event with seven goals and two assists for nine points.

He scored in the Shockwave's first game, posted two goals and an assist in the first victory over Frostbite, and then delivered a spectacular four-goal performance against Marple in the finale.

Three of those four goals came in the second half, with the final two scored with the extra attacker to erase what had been a three-goal Marple lead.

Erik Balthaser — Susquehanna Scream

Balthaser provided much of the playmaking behind Susquehanna's strong start.

He recorded four assists in the season opener, added two more against Marple, scored a power-play goal against Steel City and contributed another assist against Philly later in the day.

That gave Balthaser one goal and seven assists for eight points during the Scream's first four games.

Nate Loughner — Steel City Shockwave

Loughner gave Steel City another consistent scoring threat.

He scored twice in the overtime opener against Marple, recorded a hat trick against Frostbite, scored again against Susquehanna and added an assist in the shootout victory over Marple.

Loughner finished his first PIHA event with six goals and one assist.

Dan Rock — Philly Frostbite

Rock continued to drive the Frostbite offense throughout the afternoon.

He scored twice in the opening one-goal loss to Susquehanna, contributed to Philly's victory over Marple and then recorded two goals and an assist in the overtime rematch with the Scream.

Rock finished the event with five goals and two assists for seven points.

Don Susini and Jack Phelan — SK Marple Gladiators

Marple's offense received major contributions from both veterans.

Susini finished the day with four goals and two assists, with all four goals coming during Marple's second-half surge against Susquehanna.

Phelan totaled one goal and five assists, including three assists against the Scream and two more on Michael Marconi's goals against Frostbite.

Jesse Koewacich — Steel City Shockwave

Koewacich handled the entire debut schedule in goal for Steel City and was tested repeatedly.

Across four games, he faced 65 shots and made 51 saves, helping the Shockwave earn two victories and an overtime loss. His busiest performance came in the finale, when he made 17 saves before Steel City won in the shootout.

Tyler Gilbert — Philly Frostbite

Gilbert delivered one of the strongest single-game goaltending performances of the afternoon when Frostbite earned its first win.

He stopped 19 of 21 shots against Marple, allowing Philly to protect its early lead and secure a 4-2 victory.

The Colonial Division Is Finally Complete

Saturday's event did more than add another eight games to the schedule.

For the first time this season, all six Colonial Division teams have now taken the floor.

Marple and Philly entered Yellow Breeches having already played four games at the division's October 3 opener in Rockville. Susquehanna and Steel City used Saturday to play their first four, joining Chesapeake and Nova in completing their initial block of regular-season games.

The newcomers wasted little time making the standings more interesting.

Susquehanna leaves its home opener at 3-1, while Steel City begins at 2-1-1. Marple's 2-1-1 afternoon gives the Gladiators four victories through their first eight games, while Frostbite finally broke into the win column during its second event.

With teams currently sitting at different points in their schedules, the standings will need time to normalize. But one thing became clear at Yellow Breeches:

The Colonial Division isn't simply adding two teams to the schedule.

Steel City and Susquehanna appear ready to factor into the race immediately.

A Different Division Than Two Weeks Ago

The first Colonial event in Rockville gave PIHA its initial look at Nova, Chesapeake, Marple and Philly.

Two weeks later, the picture already looks considerably more complicated.

Susquehanna showed it could win close games, taking three victories by a combined four goals. Steel City demonstrated resilience almost immediately, responding to an overtime loss in its first game with its first victory and later overcoming a 5-2 deficit against Marple to win in a shootout.

Marple continued to find itself in dramatic finishes, splitting its four games despite two of them going beyond regulation. And Frostbite, after enduring a difficult opening event in Rockville, earned a much-needed first victory and pushed Susquehanna all the way to overtime later in the day.

There is still plenty of hockey to be played before the Colonial postseason picture becomes clear.

But following eight games at Yellow Breeches, the division now has all six of its teams on the board — and considerably more intrigue than it had just two weeks ago.