PIHA Minor Quarterfinals Recap: Moustache and Gladiators March into Semis

Saturday afternoon’s Minor Division Quarterfinals featured two win-or-go-home showdowns, with four teams battling for a coveted spot in the Sunday semifinals. When the dust settled, the Mach 1 Moustache and Marple SK Labeda Gladiators emerged victorious, setting up two thrilling semifinal clashes on Championship Sunday.

Quarterfinal 1: (3) Mach 1 Moustache 5, (6) Lambs Grove Leaf Ray 2

In the opening quarterfinal, the Mach 1 Moustache wasted no time setting the tone, scoring just four seconds into the game as Tyler Rifice buried a feed from Eric Alfredsen for the fastest goal of the playoffs so far.

Lambs Grove responded late in the first with a goal from Caiden Anderson to tie the game 1–1, but the second half belonged to Mach 1. Bryan Lees and Greg Cartwright each scored early to put the Moustache up by two. Cartwright added another late in the period, assisted by Tom Cartwright and Chris Ferrara, before Rory Sheppard sealed it with a buzzer-beater goal with just two seconds left.

Despite being outshot 19–6 in the second half, goalie Tom Sharkey stood tall with 13 saves in the final frame, preserving the lead and sending Mach 1 to the semifinals.

Quarterfinal 2: (4) Marple SK Labeda Gladiators 4, (5) Mile High Mavin Tugboats 3

In a back-and-forth thriller, the Marple Gladiators fended off a furious late push from the Mile High Tugboats to advance with a 4–3 victory.

John Bright opened the scoring for Marple on a power play in the first, giving the Gladiators a 1–0 lead at the break. The second half turned into a scoring frenzy, with Garrett Dobbins and Don Susini scoring back-to-back goals to give Marple a 3–0 advantage.

But Mile High wouldn’t go away. Matt Clift scored all three goals for the Tugboats in a five-minute span—one on the power play, two at even strength—to bring his team within one. Still, it wasn’t enough to overcome Marple’s offensive burst.

Andrew Sharkus made 19 saves to hold off the comeback, while David Hayes picked up a pair of assists in the win.

Semifinals Set for LATER TODAY

With the quarterfinals complete, the final four teams are ready to battle for a spot in the championship series. The top-seeded Empire State Legends Black will face the surging Marple Gladiators, while the second-seeded Apex Title Wave Mops get a rematch with the Mach 1 Moustache—a high-octane clash that ended 5–3 in favor of Apex during round robin play.