If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.

That's the task facing Seneca Valley's hockey team as it prepares to face top-seeded Peters Township in Tuesday night's PIHL Class AAA Penguins Cup final at the Lemieux Sports Complex.

Peters Township (16-4) is the defending Penguins Cup and state champion.

Seneca Valley (14-6) has accounted for one of the Indians' four losses this season, winning 3-2 in a shootout in November. Peters Township won the rematch in January, 2-1 in overtime.

“They seem to bring out the best in us,” said SV coach Anthony Raco of the Indians. “That's encouraging, but we know we will have to work hard all three periods. One bad period could be the difference between winning and losing.”

Rick Tingle is in his 13th year as head coach of Peters Township. He is not short on respect for Seneca Valley.

“They are a complete team with great coaching,” he said. “We became a Triple-A team seven or eight years ago, and we seem to split with them every season.

“It's never an easy game with Seneca Valley,” added Tingle. “When a team does things well consistently, it comes back to coaching. For them, it comes back to Anthony.”

The Indians have four goalies on their roster — Alex Wilbert, Adam Ulan, Wesley Kaylor and Brock Sharbaugh — and they have all been credited with at least three wins this season.

Ulan started and made 14 saves in a 2-1 quarterfinal win over Plum. Tingle then turned to Wilbert, who stopped 20 shots in a 2-1 semifinal victory over North Allegheny.

Sharbaugh was the winning goaltender in the win over Seneca Valley earlier this season.

“We didn't think about having four goalies until tryouts before the season. That's when we realized they were all capable,” said Tingle, who did not reveal his netminder for Tuesday's game. “All four of them have something that puts them in the running to start Tuesday.”

“We aren't worried about their goalie,” said Raco. “Our focus will be on how to attack the net.”

Seneca Valley has no such decision to make in goal. The choice is clear with senior Logan Johnson entering the game with a 12-5 record this season and a superb save percentage of 93.1.

“He is an athletic kid who plays well outside the net,” said Raco. “He has done a consistent job of holding our opponents to one or two goals and has played with confidence all season.”

Neither Seneca Valley nor Peters Township has a dominant offensive player. The Indians feature forward Torrey Schwartz, who has scored 14 goals and has 12 assists, but Raco knows the Indians, as a team, can put the puck in the net.

“Their forechecking is very strong,” he said. “They're very good at getting odd-man rushes.”

SV's Michael Spokane leads the Raiders with 10 goals and has added five assists.

Senior Hunter Mueller is a key contributor on both ends of the ice for Seneca Valley. Though a defenseman, he leads the team with 18 points (six goals, 12 assists).

“He has really good speed,” said Raco. “He is able to evade that first forecheck and teams have to respect that and back off a bit. That can help us break out of the zone more quickly.”

Peters Township has claimed six Penguins Cup titles, including two in Class AAA (2014, 2017).

“We follow the same process every season,” said Tingle. “We set goals for how we play each game as opposed to what we hope to do by the end of the season.”

The Raiders, who earned a spot in the title game with playoff wins over Bethel Park (4-1) and Cathedral Prep (3-2), are seeking the program's first Penguins Cup.

“It is an accomplishment to get here,” said Raco, “but we won't be satisfied without a win. That's a good attitude to have.”

The game is scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m.