CECIL TWP — Alyssa Peterson, still in full goalie gear, hunched over in the hallway outside of the Seneca Valley hockey locker room in disbelief.

Her Raiders' hockey teammates walked up to her, one by one, patted her on her helmet and offered her encouraging words.

Seneca Valley hockey coach Anthony Raco was the last to console her.

“Keep your head up,” he said.

Peterson played an inspired game in net against Canon-McMillan in the first round of the PIHL Class AAA playoffs at the Iceoplex at Southpointe Tuesday night.

Two bad bounces of the puck, including a jabbed-in goal in overtime that trickled through the crease and just over the goal line, ended the Raiders' season in a 4-3 loss to the Big Macs.

“The thing about the sport of hockey is sometimes things are decided by the bounces,” Raco said. “The unfortunate thing for us was the bounces didn't go our way.”

Seneca Valley had two golden opportunities to steal a win from the fifth-seeded Big Macs.

The first came late in the third period with the game knotted at 3-3, but Canon-McMillan goalie Conor Hartnett turned away the scoring chance.

In the first minute of overtime, the Raiders had another breakaway and Hartnett turned that chance away, too, with a difficult save.

Outside the Big Macs' locker room after the game, one of Hartnett's teammates bellowed: “Conor, you saved our season.”

For most of the game, it looked like Peterson was going to be the one to do the season-saving.

Peterson was stellar in the net, stopping 31 shots — most of them difficult.

A junior and the first female to start in goal in Seneca Valley hockey history, she gave up two fluke goals, however, including the equalizer off the stick of Austin Tonkovich that just crossed the goal line before the net came off its moorings.

The game-winner by Zach Mansmann just 24 seconds into overtime was similar in that the puck glanced off the post and trickled past the goal line.

“I was really pleased with the way Alyssa played,” Raco said. “I thought she was really tracking the puck well through all the traffic and seeing through screens. She didn't let up a lot of rebounds in front of the paint. It was just one of those things where little gaps here and there in front of the net and the puck trickles in and we're going home.”

Canon-McMillan got on the board first 12 minutes into the game with a goal by Shane Morgan.

Connor Williams tied it up for Seneca Valley with a goal four minutes into the second period in a wild scramble.

Tonkovich scored his first goal of the game to put the Big Macs up 2-1 a few minutes later, but Seneca Valley responded again with a goal from Parker Faix to tie the game at 2-2 heading into the third period.

“They're a good team. The things we stressed to the guys was to stay in your game and stay with it,” Raco said. “You're playing for your season. The effort was there.”

Alex Crilley gave Seneca Valley its only lead of the game five minutes into the third period, but that lead was fleeting as Tonkovich tied it just two minutes later to set up the overtime dramatics.

And the sudden end to the Raiders' season.

“That's a character group of kids in that locker room,” said Raco. “I wouldn't change anything about the way they played. It just wasn't in our cards tonight.”