Seneca blanks Tigers
WARRENDALE — Seneca Valley seemed to be in control, but North Allegheny had the opportunity to get it back — twice.
But the Tigers, who were down by two goals, failed to capitalize on a pair of two-man advantages and the Raiders captured a 2-0 high school hockey victory at BladeRunners Friday night.
A cross-checking penalty on Seneca Valley's Tayler Wagner with 10:24 left in the second period was followed by a tripping call on Sean Sokolowski to give the Tigers a 5-on-3 advantage for 43 seconds.
The Raiders killed off both penalties to maintain the lead. But with 48 seconds left in the period, a boarding call on Eric Larson was followed by a tripping call on Sokolowski with 16 seconds left to give NA a two-man advantage for 1:29.
As it turned out, that edge lasted for only 50 seconds before the Tigers' Dalton Landman was called for hooking with 14:26 left in the game.
The Raiders killed the penalties and iced the victory.
"Looking back, that was the game," SV coach Denis Kirstein said. "Going from the end of the second period and into the third is always tough. There's that change.
"The first minute of the third period is always important. We had to kill the penalty," he added.
"The rest of the third period, we didn't have that same energy," Tigers coach Jim Black said. "We came out in the third with a 5-on-3 and it was rough the rest of the way."
The Raiders (9-2) beat the Tigers 3-0 Nov 10.
"It was kind of the same game," said Black. "It's typically an up-and-down game with little scoring chances.
"The one thing that concerns me with (the Raiders) is their speed in the neutral zone. That can cause problems for defensemen.
"They had a couple of good chances and were able to score," Black added.
Tyler Mesisca took a pass before the blue line, slipped past a pair of Tigers defenders down the left side, then cut back in front of the net before burying a shot past NA goalie Greg Borza with 2:28 left in the first period.
The Raiders doubled their lead when Sokolowski took a pass from Sam Jarrett near the left faceoff circle and rifled a low shot past Borza with 13:05 left in the second period.
Seneca Valley goalie Ryan Schutte was stellar in net, turning away 18 shots by the Tigers (3-6-3).
"I think (Schutte) had a lot of expectations in his head," said Kirstein. "He's tough on himself and this concerns us as a coaching staff.
"Tonight was great for him. We had lost, then won, lost then won. Now this was our second win in a row and now he's back to where he was," Kirstein added.
The Tigers have hit a rough patch the past couple of seasons, at least from an offensive standpoint.
"We have not had that one notable goal scorer," said Black. "We've had younger kids put the puck in the net. But in a game like this, where you hit a couple of posts, we need to work harder to create some chances."
Notes: Borza finished with 16 saves. ... The Tigers went 0-for-4 on the power play, the Raiders were 0-for-2. ... Seneca Valley plays Pine-Richland Monday.
