WARRENDALE - Every second counts. Sewickley Academy will attest to that.

Having been turned away by Mars goalie Bryan Ross time and time again in the third period of Tuesday's PIHL Class A hockey matchup, the Panthers' Trevor Heck tied the game with one second left in regulation.

When Alec Shannon scored just 1:57 into overtime, Sewickley Academy eked out a 6-5 victory at BladeRunners.

Ross made 13 saves in the third period and played a key role in the Planets' killing a two-minute, two-man disadvantage midway through the period.

However, the Planets almost did it again as a double-minor penalty against Steve Matuzak with 3:12 left in regulation assured the Planets to be one man down the rest of the way.

"Stupid penalties killed us," said Mars coach Eric Glover. "A double minor at the end of the game, you can't do that."

In front of a crowded net, Heck was able to get off a shot into the upper right corner.

"I've seen a lot of finishes, but Trevor always seems to finish in the big games," said Panthers coach Erik Hoolahan. "He fired a laser beam."

In the five-minute overtime, Alec Shannon ripped a shot from the left side past Ross for the game-winner with 3:03 remaining.

"We showed our resilience to stay close and give ourselves a chance," Hoolahan added.

The game was an offensive shootout the first two periods as Mars (12-6-2) opened with a pair of goals. Mike Riefner and Ian Finney scored 45 seconds apart to give Mars the early lead.

Sewickley's Brad Watts countered with a goal 20 seconds later and followed up with another with 5:56 left in the first period to tie the game.

Just 19 seconds later, Mars re-took the lead when Tyler Brooks scored off a Mike Kenitz pass for a 3-2 lead.

In the second period, Mars upped its lead when Riefner scored off assists from Brooks and Carroll Smith with 12:48 left.

But for the second time in the game, Watts responded with consecutive goals to tie the game at 4.

His third goal of the game came with 11:26 left off assists from Connor Blood and Richard Thornburgh, the second time that combination turned the trick.

Two minutes later, Watts scored unassisted when he wrapped the puck inside the net from behind.

Mars rebounded by taking the lead, again with Brooks scoring off a pass from Kenitz with 6:18 left in the second period.

That score held up until Heck's heroics forced overtime.

The game was a far cry from the last meeting between the teams, an 8-2 win by Sewickley Academy Dec. 3. The Planets were missing three starters in that game.

"We showed we can skate with them," said Glover. "Now, if we face them in the playoffs, we know can play them.

"We've lost to three teams, Quaker Valley, Serra and (Sewickley Academy) this year and those are the three toughest teams we'll face.

"I would have liked to have beaten one of them, but this game, we're not taking it as a loss," Glover added.

"We're an offensive-minded team. The name of the game is to win, so I'll take a 6-5 win. We're a team people know will score goals," Hoolahan said.

The Panthers (16-5) entered the game with four players with 45 points or more and seven with 20 or more points.

Shannon and Watts entered the game with 51 goals and 133 points combined.

Ross made 36 saves while Sewickley's Matthew Solter made 16.

"Bryan Ross had an unbelievable game," said Hoolahan. "I don't know how he came up with some of those saves.

"That was two teams slugging it out. You can't ask for a better game. We were just lucky to come out with the win."

Notes:

Mars was 0-for-2 on the power play, Sewickley 1-for 6. … The Panthers have outscored their opponents 152-48, while Mars has a 75-52 advantage. … Both teams have qualified for the Penguin Cup playoffs.