PIHA Cross-Division Festival Day 1: Sunshine Shines in Snellville

by Anthony Flynn

The Professional Inline Hockey Association’s lone cross-division festival of the 2025-26 season brought together both the established Piedmont Division and the brand-new Sunshine Division for the first time.  Saturday’s schedule featured twenty fast-paced matchups as PIHA expanded its footprint into Georgia for the inaugural Sunshine weekend.

The league also assembled a blended officiating crew representing multiple PIHA regions, ensuring consistency and professionalism across every contest.  From opening puck drop to the nightcap under the SGAA lights, the day showcased depth, talent, and high-tempo offense on both rinks.

🔹 Game-by-Game Highlights

2:00 PM – Chattanooga Edge Snipers 6, Apex Title Wave Mops 1
The Snipers started strong, led by Caden Gersky and Owen Garner, who fueled an early scoring surge.  Apex’s Owen Drugan tallied the lone goal for the Mops.

2:40 PM – Cary Title Wave Mops 4, Mavin Puff Puff Passers 3 (SO)
A tight battle went the distance before Russell Shengulette sealed the shootout for Cary. Ethan Chipping and Gannon Karmire also scored in regulation, while Keith Lawson kept the Passers close.

3:20 PM – Champion Asheville Aces 7, Hendersonville Broadway Blades 3
The Aces’ potent top line clicked early—Logan Garst netted a pair and Dustin Disbro added two helpers as Asheville’s offense set the tone for the weekend.

3:20 PM – Gainesville Crocodiles 6, Apex Title Wave Mops 3
A back-and-forth first half turned Gainesville’s way thanks to Austin Rice and Braden Follenius, each with multi-point efforts.

4:00 PM – Unify Hooligans 8, Cary Title Wave Mops 6
Unify’s relentless pressure produced an eight-goal outburst. Chris Melendez and Ian Stefanescu combined for six points, while Cary’s Radek Kerr and Ethan Chipping paced the counterattack.

4:00 PM – Champion Asheville Aces 8, South Florida Pegasus 1
Asheville stayed perfect behind a dominant Logan Garst hat trick and defensive control from Tyler Gilbert. Jake Reilly scored the lone Pegasus marker.

4:40 PM – Labeda Naples Kaos 3, Chattanooga Edge Snipers 2
A disciplined Kaos unit capitalized on precision passing from Hunter Rockett and Vinny Cafone, overcoming a late Snipers push.

4:40 PM – Gainesville Crocodiles 6, Hendersonville Broadway Blades 2
Gainesville rolled behind Phillip Vanderlaat and Bryan Miller, extending their hot start to 2-0.

5:20 PM – Unify Hooligans 7, Mavin Puff Puff Passers 1
The Hooligans’ depth showed again—Joey LaRocco scored twice and Jeff Coughanour stood tall in net as Unify cruised.

5:20 PM – South Florida Pegasus 7, Apex Title Wave Mops 6
An offensive thriller saw Evan McNamara record four points for Pegasus, surviving a furious Apex rally powered by Owen Drugan.

6:00 PM – Cary Title Wave Mops 5, Labeda Naples Kaos 4 (OT)
In a statement win, Cary out-dueled one of the Sunshine favorites as Russell Shengulette netted the overtime winner.

6:00 PM – Champion Asheville Aces 5, Gainesville Crocodiles 2
Asheville’s balanced scoring continued; Nick Short and Austin Gomez anchored a disciplined defensive performance.

6:40 PM – Unify Hooligans 5, Chattanooga Edge Snipers 4
Unify edged another close one, with Viktor Dominguez’s late tally breaking a tie in a physical, high-energy matchup.

6:40 PM – South Florida Pegasus 6, Hendersonville Broadway Blades 2
Pegasus rebounded impressively, fueled by Jonathan Staller’s playmaking and Randy Schmidt’s solid goaltending.

7:20 PM – Labeda Naples Kaos 4, Mavin Puff Puff Passers 1
The Kaos offense found rhythm as Hunter Rockett led with a goal and assist. Mavin’s Will Inman scored early but the Sunshine side locked down defensively.

7:20 PM – Chattanooga Edge Snipers 3, Gainesville Crocodiles 1
A bounce-back win for the Snipers—Evan Rench’s pair of helpers and Ethan Williams’ strong goaltending sealed it.

8:00 PM – Unify Hooligans 8, Hendersonville Broadway Blades 3
Unify’s offense kept rolling as Chris Melendez tallied twice, maintaining their perfect day at 4-0-0.

8:00 PM – South Florida Pegasus 5, Mavin Puff Puff Passers 2
The Pegasus offense stayed consistent, with Jake Reilly and Ryan Lazarus leading the attack.

8:40 PM – Labeda Naples Kaos 8, Apex Title Wave Mops 6
The day closed with a fireworks-filled Sunshine duel. Vinny Cafone’s four-point night helped Kaos pull away late despite Apex’s resilient push.

8:40 PM – Champion Asheville Aces 6, Cary Title Wave Mops 2
The Aces capped a perfect opening day, dominating transition play as Dustin Disbro and Logan Garst continued their scoring tear.

🏁 Team Summaries – Saturday Records

  • Champion Asheville Aces (4-0-0): Flawless start; the Piedmont powerhouse controlled every game with balanced scoring and relentless pace.

  • Unify Hooligans (4-0-0): Electric attack, depth from top to bottom, and clutch goaltending defined their perfect day.

  • Labeda Naples Kaos (3-0-1): Only blemish was an overtime loss to Cary; poised and polished debut for the Sunshine favorite.

  • Gainesville Crocodiles (3-1-0): Fast and physical, Gainesville impressed in their PIHA return.

  • South Florida Pegasus (3-1-0): Responded to early setback with three straight wins fueled by heavy offense.

  • Chattanooga Edge Snipers (2-2-0): Competitive in every outing; excellent structure on special teams.

  • Cary Title Wave Mops (2-2-0): Showed grit and skill with an overtime win over Kaos, though defensive fatigue showed late.

  • Apex Title Wave Mops (0-4-0): Scored often but struggled to close; youth and energy are there.

  • Hendersonville Broadway Blades (0-4-0): Battled hard but ran into elite offenses all day.

  • Mavin Puff Puff Passers (0-4-0): New roster finding chemistry; flashes of promise in close early losses.

🌟 Top Stars by Team

Champion Asheville Aces: Logan Garst (9 G, 4 A), Dustin Disbro (6 pts), Tyler Gilbert (+9 rating)
Unify Hooligans: Chris Melendez, Ian Stefanescu, Joey LaRocco (collectively 22 pts in 4 games)
Labeda Naples Kaos: Vinny Cafone, Hunter Rockett, Mac Malleady – led a balanced Sunshine attack
Gainesville Crocodiles: Austin Rice and Bryan Miller anchored a disciplined two-way unit
South Florida Pegasus: Evan McNamara (6 pts), Jake Reilly (4 G), Ryan Lazarus (steady defense)
Chattanooga Edge Snipers: Caden Gersky (5 G), Ethan Williams (SV% .840)
Cary Title Wave Mops: Ethan Chipping (OT GWG), Russell Shengulette (3 G), Radek Kerr (playmaking spark)
Apex Title Wave Mops: Owen Drugan (3 G), Hunter Bardua (energy forward)
Hendersonville Broadway Blades: Jared Shirden (steady D), Gabi Gibson (40+ saves on the day)
Mavin Puff Puff Passers: Will Inman and Keith Lawson showed scoring touch despite tough matchups

🔜 What’s Next

The 2025-26 PIHA Cross-Division Festival continues Sunday morning at SGAA, as teams complete their two-day, six-game weekends.  With the Sunshine Division’s debut now officially underway and parity on display from start to finish, the league’s newest expansion region could not have asked for a brighter beginning.