NEW KENSINGTON — The Knoch hockey team's defense has been strong all season.

So it wasn't surprising when the unit rose to the occasion in Wednesday's PIHL Class A first-round playoff game against Center.

Leading 3-1, the Knights allowed just one shot on goal in the first 8 minutes, 10 seconds of the final period.

The Trojans did manage a power-play goal from Brandon Bishop, cutting Knoch's edge to 3-2 with 4:01 to play.

From that point on, Knights goalie Ryan Naples turned away the only shot he faced, preserving the one-goal win at the Valley Sports Complex.

Knoch (15-8) will face Kittanning (20-2) in the quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Belmont Arena.

"Our defense has been there for us all year. We gave up the second lowest amount of goals in the league," said Knoch coach Joe Honzo. "And Ryan (19 saves), he came up with some great saves tonight."

Neal Donnelly scored what proved to be the winning goal when he controlled a rebound and beat Center goalie Nate Wormald for a 3-1 lead with 5:45 left in the second period.

While Center (10-13) struggled to form an effective attack in the first period, the Knights pelted Wormald with 11 shots.

The Trojans goalie, who ended up with 31 saves, made two straight stops midway through the period. But his second save yielded a rebound that came out to the goalie's left, where Matt Eshelman was waiting.

He sent a wrist shot into the net for a 1-0 lead.

The Trojans finally found their offensive groove in the second period, when they tallied 11 shots on goal and got the equalizer when Bishop scored his first tally at 10:54.

But 1:51 later, Eric Egler settled a scrum in front of Center's net by getting a stick on the goal that gave Knoch a 2-1 lead.

"That was a big goal," said Honzo. "Obviously, we didn't want Center to think they were back in the game."

"It was basically a lucky bounce," said Egler.

The two teams met on Dec. 10, with Center coming away with a 3-2 win.

"Things just weren't clicking for us in that first game," said Egler, who assisted on his team's first goal Wednesday. "But we knew we were the better team and showed it tonight."

"I think the difference was how well we attacked tonight," said Honzo. "And our fore-checking was strong. We were able to create turnovers in their zone."

Recording assists for Knoch were Nate Medic (2), Eshelman, Roger Sepich and Evan Gorse.

The Knights enter the showdown with Kittanning riding a four-game winning streak.

Knoch dropped regular-season decisions of 6-3 and 5-1 to the Wildcats, but Honzo is confident his team can earn a victory.

"Of the four teams that received byes, we've beaten three of them this year (Serra Catholic, Mars and Bishop McCort)," said Honzo. "When we do get down in a game, our kids don't quit. They know we can come back."

Trojans coach Jim Dolence was unavailable for comment.